Five major champions lead after round 2 of the Masters: Tiger, DJ one shot back

Five major champions sit at the top of the leaderboard as Dustin Johnson and Tiger Woods form part of chasing pack after round two of the Masters

The second round at Augusta National was full of excitement and quality golf amid changing weather conditions as five major champions finished the day with a share of the lead on seven under par. 

Francesco Molinari was the first man to reach seven-under-par, and was soon joined in the clubhouse by Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, with Tiger Woods and Dustin Johnson in a group just one stroke back.

With 34 players under-par at the midway stage, the first major of the year is already shaping up to be a battle between the best players in the game as a highly congested leaderboard sets it up as a wide open contest. 

First round leaders Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka both got off to good starts and held the solo lead at different stages but went on to struggle early on in round two, and it was Open Champion Francesco Molinari who first laid down the marker on seven under with the best Masters round of his career.

For Molinari, a bogey-free round of 67 was the culmination of a strong day on and around the greens, and he now sits third for the week in putts per round statistics. 

Jason Day soon matched Molinari’s 67, putting up an impressive performance just a day after he needed on course medical treatment after injuring his back before his opening round. 

Bryson DeChambeau struggled to a three-over 75, but his first round co-leader Koepka recovered with a birdie on the final hole of the day to join Day and Molinari at the top of the leaderboard.

2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott became the next man to join the leading group. Thanks to a run of birdies and an eagle on the 15th Scott managed to push out in front at eight-under-par, but he quickly handed back his advantage after missing a par-putt from three feet on 17. 

Louis Oosthuizen became the fifth major champion to top the leaderboard on Day 1 as he followed the lead of Day and Molinari with a round of 67, which included an up-and-down par save on the 36th hole.

Fellow South African and Masters rookie Justin Harding could well have spoiled the major champion party but he drove his tee shot in to a tree on the final hole of the day, and a bogey dropped him back in to a tie with Dustin Johnson on six-under par. 

Tiger Woods was another one of the big movers on the second day with a four-under 68, but was left to rue two very gettable birdie chances to join the leaders on both of the last two holes as well as on the 12th, where his momentum was slightly stalled by a weather delay. 

Xander Schauffele became the fourth person to get in to the group on six-under with the lowest round of the day, a seven-under 65, which included four birdies on his last six holes.

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