Can he win another Green Jacket?
The big question is has Tiger Woods lived up to his miraculous expectation of making the cut at the 86th Masters at Augusta National, Georgia, USA on his way to winning yet another Green Jacket? Despite an awkward walk at the start of day one after his serious car accident of last year, he shot an impressively steady 1-under par 71. It was a score good enough to share 10th spot in the Masters with a host of golfing colleagues including last year’s runner-up Will Zalatoris (USA).
On day two, Woods kept up his fine play to shoot 74 and stay on the edge of the mix in a share of 19th spot. So Mr Woods, even with an injured leg and not having played in an official tournament for more than a year, is still producing some stunning golf. The next two days will see what the 15 times Major winner has in store for us.
Five times winner on the PGA Tour, Australian Cameron Smith (pictured above), was playing superbly at Augusta National on day one. The 28-year old from Brisbane was runner-up in the 2020 Masters and recently creamed the Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He opened with a 4-under par 68 in the Masters which included alas a drastic double bogey at both the 1st and 18th holes. His brilliance was surpassed by 24-year old South Korean player Sunjae Im who shot a 5-under par 67 to take the day one lead.
Americans Dustin Johnson, who won the Masters in 2020, and the new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler together with England’s Danny Willett, who won the Masters in 2016, and the Chilean Joaquin Niemann, were tucked-in one shot behind Cameron Smith on 3-under.
So how is the leaderboard shaping-up after the second round? Well, the wind was stronger than on day one and caused some havoc with the scores. Even though players competed in the same groups of three just as on Thursday, the rounds were more than impressive. Brilliant, actually!
World No 1 leads the Masters
Scottie Scheffler, the 25-year old Texan PGA professional, has been making a great impact in the world of golf after winning three tournaments in America since February this year. His victories have earned him the enviable position of Number One Golfer in the World. Now that is pretty hot! So hot in fact that the formidable player squeezed a great result out of the Masters at Augusta National on day two. He now leads the tournament after 36 holes with a 136, 8-under par tally which includes a 5-under par added to his opening round of 69.
You can read more about the Masters 2022 in our next blog!
Wendy Hoad
MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Tiger Woods makes the cut at the 2022 Masters. Under: Cameron Smith (Australia).