• Masters ’19: Saffas on Friday

    Louis Oosthuizen
    Tied at the top

    A breakdown of the six South Africans after round two that saw Justin Harding move to within one of the Masters Tournament five co-leaders, notably joined last by Louis Oosthuizen.

    Louis Oosthuizen – T1 after a 66

    Magnificent Louis part of Major lead – that is how we described the second round in our lead story. Oosthuizen has Major game, but the real work starts today.

    Justin Harding – T6 after a 69

    A quiet front nine was done all in pars. A bogey at 11 seemed to light a fire as he holed long putts at the 12th and 14th and crucially made the most of the par-5s (13th and 15th) before leaving himself a tap-in at the 17th. For the second straight day he bogeyed 18.

    Trevor Immelman -T50 after 72

    For the first time in six years, Immelman will be playing the weekend at Augusta. A double at the 10 was offset by two birdies – like Harding – at the par-5s coming in.

    Branden Grace – T57 after a 75

    Owes Adam Scott a drink of his choice after the Australian missed a birdie putt at the last. Why does Scott’s miss matter to Grace? The miss allowed Grace to make the cut on the number and feature on the weekend. Granted, he’s 10 back, two good rounds could mean a financially rewarding week, even if his wait for the Green Jacket must continue.

    Charl Schwartzel – T73 after a 72

    His race was run after an opening 77. Schwartzel birdied both of the back nine’s par-5s – note the theme developing here – to move back to level. The 2011 champion’s game needs to be urgently addressed, with his ranking now outside the top 100.

    Jovan Rebula – T80 after a 79

    Rebula was level after nine and set for the cut before four back nine double bogeys ended those thoughts. Four amateurs made the weekend – the most since the likes of future Masters champions Sergio Garcia and Trevor Immelman, as well as Matt Kuchar (now a PGA Tour star) did it back in 1999. You need to go back to 1978 to find a year when that number was higher.

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