Masters 2024: Tiger Woods breaks record at Augusta, Scheffler, DeChambeau, Homa share lead

American trio Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa shared the lead, while Tiger Woods achieved a record 24 consecutive half-cuts at the Masters.

Homa's 71 was one of only 8-under rounds on a wild second day at Augusta, improving to 6-under.

DeChambeau, the first-round leader, shot a 73 and Scheffler had a 72.

England's Tommy Fleetwood and Danny Willett were back in fifth place with one under, but Rory McIlroy's challenge disappeared with a 77, leaving him at four over.

Willett was 4 under on the 18th tee, but a wayward drive and two strokes before breaking out of a greenside bunker led to a triple-bogey seventh.

Defending champion Jon Rahm admitted he had been “fighting all day” as he entered the weekend at 5 over after signing a 76 and one stroke within the cut mark.

Woods, who shot a 72 and reached the half with one over, insisted after his round, “Whoever has a good weekend has a chance.''

It was a tough day for all players, with strong winds wreaking havoc throughout, causing icy slow play as the ball moved around the green and sand was blown from the bunkers.

The only player to shoot in the 60s was Ludvig Aberg in his Masters debut, shooting a 3-under 69 to move into the top seven at 2-under.

McIlroy, Scheffler and Xander Schauffele were among the last group, taking 6 hours and 2 minutes to complete 18 holes.

Danish debutant Nikolaj Højgaard shot a 73 with four birdies and five bogeys, leaving him two behind the leader. He is one place ahead of two major winners Collin Morikawa and Australia's Cameron Davis.

Before the tournament, Woods held the record for most consecutive cuts in a tournament, which he entered on the 23rd with Fred Couples and Gary Player.

When he started his streak in April 1997, 17 of this week's players weren't even born yet.

On Friday, Woods needed to finish five holes from round one before quickly advancing to round two.

He had only played 25 holes in a tournament this year before withdrawing from the second round of the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness, so it was going to be difficult to walk 23 holes in one day. .

But despite the physical exertion, the 48-year-old American used all his knowledge to navigate a roller-coaster front nine, scoring three birdies and three bogeys.

As the wind picked up as the round progressed, he made a series of great par putts, dropping a shot on the 14th before birdieing the 15th to stay well above the cut line.

“I'm tired. And I'm really hungry. Food and caffeine will get me through it,” the 15-time major champion said when asked how he felt after the round.

In the past 87 Masters Tournaments, the United States has produced 63 of the winners. At the halfway stage, this issue is heading in the same direction.

World No. 1 Scheffler showed perfect course management to join the leaders, even though weather conditions seemed a little more turbulent than when he shot a 66 in the first round.

He hit a bogey on No. 7 and briefly dropped a two-stroke lead, but he quickly recovered with a birdie and held the lead by the middle of the round.

On the par-5 13th hole, he made an unlikely mistake by hitting his second shot into the flow protecting the green, but he played conservative golf for the rest of the round to stay on top.

After an impressive opening round of 65, DeChambeau battled tentative putting and swirling winds to try to maintain the lead.

His highlight was on the 13th, where he noticed a tree was off the tee, played his second shot from the 14th fairway, and holed his third shot to 14 feet for a birdie putt.

However, he misjudged the wind when hitting his second shot, and things didn't go well in the end, leaving him 65 feet from the pin. A series of three-putt bogeys followed.

“That was one of the toughest golf trials I've ever had in my life,” DeChambeau said. “The conditions were very difficult.

“It wasn't a bad shot to shoot one over par. I have a chance and I just hope I can play to take advantage of it on Sunday.”

Meanwhile, Homa, who was playing with Woods, got off to a bright start with birdies on No. 2 and No. 4, moving him to the top of the leaderboard with DeChambeau at 7 under.

DeChambeau briefly took the lead in the tournament after bogeying No. 4, but after dropping a shot on No. 11, he made par and headed home.

McIlroy shot under par for the first time in six years in the opening round of the Masters on Thursday, leaving him just six strokes behind the leader.

But on Friday, swirling winds set him back.

After bogeys at Nos. 5 and 7, he made a damaging double bogey on No. 11, falling into the water.

Rahm also struggled. At the end of the first round, he was 1 over and made three bogeys and one double bogey, but made spectacular birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to secure his spot.

At least they'll be playing this weekend. British Open champion Brian Harman dropped 11 strokes in the final eight holes of the first round early Friday morning, and although he responded with a level par 72 in the second round, he was eliminated from the tournament with a total of 9 over.

That number was followed by 2015 Masters winner Jordan Spieth, who exploded on No. 15 in the first round with a quadruple-bogey nine and a 73 in the second round. 2020 Masters champion Dustin Johnson is also scheduled to return home after finishing 13 over.

It was also a tough day for England's Justin Rose, who dropped five strokes in just seven overs.

However, Vijay Singh, who won the green jacket in 2000, qualified at the age of 61. The popular Fijian made bogey on the 18th and finished the second round at 1 over, leaving him 4 over for the win.