Max Homa Shares Lead at 88th Masters; 3 Cal Golfers Among the Top 10

Collin Morikawa is tied for fifth, Byeong Hun An shares eighth at halfway point at Augusta National.

After an impressive Day 2 performance at the 88th Masters, three Cal golfers find themselves among the top 10 entering the weekend at Augusta National.

Max Homa, seeking his first victory at a major, shares the 36-hole lead at minus-6 after shooting a 1-under 71 on Friday. He is keeping company with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.

Collin Morikawa, a two-time major winner, carded a 2-under 70 and is tied for fifth place at minus-3, three strokes behind the leaders.

And South Korean Byeong Hun An, who played one season of golf at Cal 13 years ago and has never won on the PGA tour, is part of a seven-way tie for eighth place at 1 under par. He remains in contention despite shooting a 1-over 73 in the second round.

There is a lot of golf to played but all three Golden Bears remain in the chase to win one of the sport’s premier events.

Five-time Masters winner Tiger Woods, 48, who played alongside Homa the first two days, made the cut for a record 24th consecutive time and will be around for the weekend after playing 23 holes on Friday, including the final 18 with an even-par score of 72. That left him tied for 21st place at 1 over.

Woods offered praise and encouragement to Homa after Friday’s round.

“He's got all the talent in the world,” Woods said. “I got a chance to play with him at (the Old Course at S. Andrews), and his ball flight, as solid as he hits it, it's just a matter of time before he starts winning in bunches. I saw it up front; he doesn't really mis-hit shots. That's something you just have to do around this golf course.”

Homa and Morikawa had to finish their first rounds on Friday morning before tackling the next 18 holes. Both were forced off the course due to darkness on Thursday after morning rains delayed the start of action by two-and-a-half hours.

By the time they were done Friday, Homa and Morikawa were the only golfers to shoot under par both days.

Homa, 33, began on the 14th hole at 4 under and moved to minus-6 after birdies on 16 and 17. But he bogeyed No. 18 to finish the first round at 67.

The world’s 10th-ranked player, he birdied Nos. 2 and 4 in the second round to move into a tie for first with DeChambeau. Homa had one bogey — on No. 11 — and 13 pars the rest of the way to finish at 71.

The enormity of what Homa is trying to achieve wasn’t lost on Joel Beall of Golf Digest, who began his Friday coverage with these two paragraphs:

"For the unacquainted, his solemn, intense energy can be unnerving, uncomfortable even. Most tour pros carry themselves in a similar manner, but it’s not what you expect from Max Homa. He’s the funny guy, the goofy guy, the guy who can give as much as he can take. That’s not this guy, who’s tearing his glove off with his teeth, ignoring the calls of his name by the many who surround his group. Who’s staring a hole through the ground as he walks with a hurried soberness. Homa has the seriousness of a substitute teacher, anticipating the nonsense his presence seemingly welcomes but having none of it.

“Eventually, the realization comes that who he is online is merely a persona, and the player standing before you is a man at work. Through two days of the Masters, the work has been good and then some, as Homa’s near the top of the board with a two-day five-under total.”

A six-time PGA event winner and one of the tour’s most popular players, Homa feels good about what he’s done through two days. And why not? His previous best finish at the Masters was a tie for 43rd place a year ago.

“Obviously, been quite difficult out there,” Homa told reporters. “I struck the ball really well. I've really done everything quite well on the golf course, but most proud of what's gone on with our course management and just controlling thoughts and expectation and all that.

“So it's been fun, and I feel like ... these conditions have helped almost lean into the patience and all the things you hear, the clichés. So I feel like I've done a great job of that and then hit some good shots alongside that.”

His consistency on Friday was all the more critical given challenging winds and greens that reportedly became harder as the afternoon progressed. Such were the conditions Friday that 11 golfers who shot 6-over made the cut.

“That was about as happy as you could be to be off of a golf course,” Homa said. “That was so hard. We got the sand shower to end our day. So it was kind of even the golf course saying get the hell out of here. It was nice. It was hard.”

Morikawa, 27, who owns victories at the PGA and British Open, began his Friday on the 11th hole after playing 1 over through 10 on Thursday. Ranked No. 16 in the world, he had birdies on the 13th and 18th holes to wind up at 1 under for the first round.

He had five birdies — three of them over the final six holes — and four bogeys in the second round for a 1-under 71 to put him in a tie for fifth with Cameron Davs.

An, 33, was the only former Cal golfer to complete all 18 holes on Thursday. The 33-year-old began Day 2 at 2 under and assembled three birdies and four bogeys to wind up at 73 for the day and 1 under through 36 holes.