Kiwi golfer Ryan Fox has booked a weekend at his US Masters debut, carding another sub-par round at the iconic Augusta National in Georgia.
Tied for 17th after an opening-day 70, Fox has dipped into the red once more with a one-under 71 to consolidate his likely spot in the third and fourth rounds. With several players still to complete their second rounds, the project cutline is two over par.
The world No.37 - the 10th Kiwi to contest the tournament - again showed his resilience on the second hole, missing the fairway with his tee shot, but producing a great second for a birdie on the par-five.
Fox gave back two shots on the sixth and seventh, but immediately reclaimed one of those on the four-five eighth.
On the par-three sixth, he landed his tee shot in the middle of the green, but watched it run far away from the pin. His long birdie attempt stopped short of the hole and rolled back to where he had putted it, resulting in a three putt.
On the eighth, his second overshot the green - as it had the previous day - but he chipped to the right of the hole and watched it curl within a few feet for the birdie.
His tee shot on the par-three 16th over the water landed within a couple of feet of the pin for a third birdie, leaving him in a tie for 18th and a long wait to celebrate his cut.
Meanwhile, clubhouse leader Brooks Koepka did his damage before there was real damage at Augusta National Golf Club.
Koepka put together his second straight strong round with a five-under-par 67 in the second, before stormy weather interrupted play twice in Augusta.
Koepka moved to 12-under for the tournament and he will enter the weekend with a three-stroke lead, although 35 golfers - including 15-time Major winner Tiger Woods, battling to make the cut - will need to finish their second rounds, before the third round begins.
"Putting good, driving it well, just kind of build off all those things," Koepka said. "Get myself in contention with nine to go on Sunday - that's the whole goal."
Jon Rahm of Spain is in second place at nine-under, but he finished only nine holes. Rahm was tied with Koepka and Viktor Hovland at seven-under after the first round.
Amateur Sam Bennett shot a second consecutive 68 to move to eight-under in second place. Collin Morikawa posted a second straight 69 and is six-under midway through the tournament.
Golfers were called off the course shortly after 3pm. Play resumed about 20 minutes later, but about an hour later, competition was halted again - for good.
Among the developments was a pair of large pine trees falling and knocking down a third amid scrambling gallery members near the 17th green. Augusta National announced there were no reported injuries.
A year ago, an injury-riddled Koepka missed the cut. Now, he's contending to win the Masters for the first time.
"A lot of that comes from not being able to feel the way you want to feel," Koepka said. "Luckily, we're past that now and got everything moving the way I want to.
"Like I said, I've come a long way since then."
Koepka's lead was as big as five strokes at one point, as golfers in the early wave began to finish the round.
Koepka recorded an eagle on the par-five eighth hole. The four-time Major champion also had three birdies on the par-fives during his bogey-free round.
Norway's Viktor Hovland and Rahm, who shared the first-round lead with Koepka, had afternoon tee times.
Rahm stayed at seven-under with six consecutive pars, before play was halted the first time. He birdied the eighth and ninth, before golfers were called off the course again.
Hovland dropped a stroke to six-under through 10 holes. Bennett is the reigning US amateur champion, thriving in his first Masters.
"That's where I want to be, to be able to hit those shots with the crowds and the pressure," he said. "I loved it."
Tougher conditions are expected for the weekend.
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler was one-under for the tournament through two rounds. He was two-over on the front side and one-over on the back side, hurt mostly by a double-bogey on No.9.
The 2022 runner-up, Rory McIlroy, will miss the cut after a 77. He's at five-over for the tournament.
Woods had nine pars, one birdie and one bogey through 11 holes, leaving him at two-over for the tournament and barely above the projected cutline.
Play is scheduled to resume on Sunday (NZ time).
Reuters
