AUGUSTA, Ga. — Toward the end of a long Friday that reshaped the 89th edition of the Masters, Scottie Scheffler was sitting in the pine straw under a magnolia tree left of the 18th fairway, waiting for a rules official but looking very much like someone who simply needed to catch his breath.
It was a fitting scene involving the No. 1 player in the Official World Golf Ranking, because soon it was time to rest up for a weekend that doesn’t figure to lack for drama.
It starts with Justin Rose, who did just enough in his round of 1-under-par 71 to be the 36-hole leader at Augusta National for the third time in his career. The 44-year-old from England will try to become the second-oldest Masters champion behind Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won the green jacket for a sixth time in 1986.
The leading role, though, returns to Rory McIlroy, who came to life with a birdie-birdie-par-eagle start to the back nine. Maybe that’s where his Masters started, because he roared into contention with a bogey-free 66 that renewed hopes of a green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam and get the 35-year-old from Northern Ireland to another major championship after being stuck on four since 2014.
Bryson DeChambeau might have learned to putt the speedy greens in Augusta, a scary proposition for someone who already knows how to bash the ball and last year won the U.S. Open for the second time. The LIV Golf League star shot a 68 and was a stroke behind Rose in his best start ever at the Masters.