Scheffler Dominates Round 2 at Masters

Cameron Smith was the favorite entering the second round of the Masters on Friday. Smith finished one over par, and now he and everyone else are chasing Scottie Scheffler. The top-ranked golfer in the world was not bothered by the conditions and finished six-under to take a five shot lead entering the weekend. The last four golfers to lead by five shots halfway through the Masters have gone on to win the tournament, so Scheffler is currently even money to win his first major.

CURRENT MASTERS BETTING ODDS

• SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER +100
• SHANE LOWRY +1200
• CAMERON SMITH +1200
• DUSTIN JOHNSON +1200
• HIDEKI MATSUYAMA +1200
• JUSTIN THOMAS +1400
• ALL OTHER GOLFERS +2000 OR MORE

It will be impossible to run down Scheffler if he matches what we saw from him on the back nine on Friday. Scheffler scored birdies on the 12^th, 13^th, 15^th, and 16^th holes to move to eight-under. He finished the second round with seven birdies and a bogey.

There is a four-way tie for second place behind Scheffler. First-round leader Sungjae Im is tied with Shane Lowry and former Masters champions Charl Schwartzel and Hideki Matsuyama. Lowry and Matsuyama are the only golfers that the oddsmakers consider to be threats though.

Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith are one stroke off the four-way tie for second place. Johnson had a frustrating day with 15 pars and had to settle for par on 10 straight holes to close out the round. It was more up and down for Smith though, as he bogeyed three times in the first 12 holes to drop to even before rallying to finish two-under.

A lot of attention will be paid to Tiger Woods over the weekend, but he isn’t going to win the Masters. Woods has put together a heroic performance to return and make the cut, yet he is going to have a hard time finishing under par.

We won’t be seeing Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Jordan Spieth, or Xander Schauffele on Saturday or Sunday. Those four golfers were among the favorites coming into the Masters, but they all missed the cut.