The 25-year-old Scheffler’s brisk walk this week mimics his journey over the past two months. His first victory on the PGA Tour came on February 13 at the Phoenix Open. His second was on March 6 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His third fell just three weeks later, on March 28 at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, the same day he became the No. 1 golfer on the planet. And now, two weeks later, he equaled the record by holding the biggest 36-hole lead (five hits on four competitors) in Masters history. Scheffler has been a silent beast in large companies in recent years. His last six starts have led to finals in the top-20 and he has been a consistent statistic throughout his career, although he did not win until two months ago. Again this week, he leads the field in green jerseys, and his performance is definitely sustainable. After 36 holes and two Masters days dominated by the amazing Tiger Woods game coming back, this event finally has a narrative outside of Big Cat. Four of the five golfers who scored five shots after 36 holes in the Masters won a green jacket. The only one who did not achieve this feat happened before the start of World War II. It should come as no surprise that the No. 1 player in the world would chase a Masters victory just his third start at Augusta National. And yet, because his rise to the top of the world happened as fast as it happened, the doubt remains. One of the stories released this week was whether Scheffler was a real No. 1. The question was not whether he was a good golfer but rather whether he was just a heater. A Masters victory would dispel any doubts about Scheffler’s present and future. Now, the question that occupied the first part of this week – what will Tiger Woods do in the 2022 Masters? – has been deleted and replaced by a man wearing Big Cat’s Nike. The question now for Scheffler is the same one that Tiger answered so many times during his career: Will anyone catch the No. 1 player in the world in the last 36 holes of this big league? Here are nine more thoughts for the second round of Masters 2022. 2. The Cat Survives: Again 71-74 may not look great in history books, but Tiger has been doing a show for a long time, as he was browsing prosthetically this time a year ago. After coming out at 39, he reached 35 in the second nine and did easily on the weekend. Will he fight on Sunday? I do not think it is possible if we consider how poor he has been from his shirt so far and how broken his body is at the moment. However, Saturday will be indicative and we can only get one last magic act from the Cat in the place that dominates the most. “I do not feel as well as I would like to feel,” Woods said. “It does not matter. Like I said, I have a chance to get into the weekend. I hope I have one of those moments of the light bulb and I turn it on at the weekend and finish it. You’ve seen guys do it with a chance to get to nine “If you’re in five or six go to nine back, anything can happen. I have to get there. That’s the key. I have to get there. Tomorrow will be a big day.” 3. Dustin Johnson Lurks: The game was open to the DJ on Friday after two bogs caused by horrific tracks at No. 7 and No. 9 in the top nine. He made nine consecutive pars in the second nine to enter the house with a 73 that does not look great on paper, but was almost two better than the average in the 2nd round. The DJ knows that the weekend is big and just trying to play comes in on Sunday afternoon. His patience and discipline (seriously, patience and discipline for the DJ) is admirable, and winning a Masters at 6 under would be even more impressive than winning at a 20 under record like he did a year and a half ago time. 4. Justin Thomas jumps, Colin Morricawa moves: Morricawa slipped into the top 10 of the standings was quieter than J.T. watch on saturday. Thomas did a show. He matched Scheffler’s 67 late in the day, scoring 14-16 and fully covering his 76 from Thursday. He is legal in the mix, and after winning 5.6 hits in approaching shots in the 2nd round, there is a way to controversy on Sunday for the one who does not seem unthinkable. Watch the 2022 Masters live stream on Saturday with Masters Live as we watch the world’s best golfers around the Augusta National Featured Groups, check in at the famous Amen Corner and see the leaders around the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports. com, the CBS Sports app and Paramount +. 5. 2011 and 2016 too: After Thursday, I decided that with a leaderboard that included Dustin Johnson, Sungjae Im and Cameron Smith – the top three who finished in the November Masters – we were getting a redux in 2020. Obviously, we have more repetitions of 2011 and 2016 as well. Charl Schwartzel (2011 champion) shot a 3-under 69 on Friday and is sitting in the 3 under after 36 holes. He has lost his last six cuts worldwide and has not been in the top 10 anywhere since last July. Danny Willett (2016 champion) scored 74, but is still in the top 10. To add to the 2016 narrative, Willett took the lead at one point on Friday and Jordan Spith – who missed the cut – put the water at No. 12. 6. The most difficult test: The average score on Friday reached 74.6 mainly due to the nightmarish gusts of wind that were both lively and inconsistent. The best indication of how tough Augusta National was on Friday? Six golfers made rounds in the 1960s, seven rounds in the 1980s. 7. Back-to-back Hideki; Maybe I was more impressed with Hideki Mastsuyama 3-under so far this week. He was out of action for most of the last few months and left the Texas Open last week with a neck injury. Now? He has a real chance of becoming the first golfer after Tiger in 2001-02 to win two straight green jackets. 8. How wonderful is golf? A 63-year-old Larry Mize who averaged 230 yards from his jersey this week beat a 28-year-old Bryson DeChambeau who averaged 310 yards from a jersey on a golf course he once said played as 67 for him. I know DeChambeau is clearly not perfectly healthy, but imagine this happens in any other sport! 9. Bubba being Bubba: Let’s all take a moment to appreciate this absurd shot at No. 18 that led to the birdie for Bubba Watson and helped him make the weekend in Augusta. 10. Who can win? If we believe that the following trend will continue, the winner of the 2022 Masters will be one of the following.
Scottie Scheffler Charl Schwartzel Sunjae Im Shane Lowry Hindeki Matsuyama Harold Warner III Dustin Johnson Kevin Na Cam Smith
