Brooks Koepka seized command of The Masters with a sizzling five-under-par 67, grabbing a five-stroke lead early in Friday’s second round at Augusta National.
The four-time Major winner and LIV Golf rebel torched the famed course’s par-five holes for an eagle and three birdies in a bogey-free round.
His superb shotmaking followed an opening 65, his low Masters round, and left him on 12-under 132 for 36 holes.
Australia’s Jason Day, the 2015 PGA Championship winner and a 2011 Masters runner-up, was on seven under overall through 15 holes after a double-bogey at the par-five 15th.
Day birdied the par-five 2nd and made another at the 3rd after dropping his approach three feet from the hole. After going bogey-birdie to end his front nine, Day birdied 11 and 13 before his disaster at 15.
That dropped him back level for second place with Spain’s Jon Rahm, the 2021 US Open champion, and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who both opened with 65s and had just started their second rounds.
“I’m feeling confident. Hopefully, I can keep it going,” Rahm said. “There’s a long way to go.”
Koepka made a birdie at the par-five 2nd to grab the solo lead, then curled in a tricky 10-foot par putt at the 3rd after chipping his approach over the green.
The 32-year-old American, a 2019 Masters runner-up behind Tiger Woods, eagled the par-five 8th after a brilliant approach shot to reach 10 under, becoming the fastest to that mark at a Masters since Jordan Spieth on his way to victory in 2015.
Brooks Koepka eagles hole No. 8 to reach 10 under par and extend his lead to three strokes. #themasters pic.twitter.com/y6kU21x7SD
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2023
Koepka cleared Rae’s Creek in two at the extended par-five 13th and notched another birdie, then added one more at the 15th.
After winning last week’s LIV Golf event in Orlando, Koepka could produce the PGA Tour’s nightmare scenario of a victory on one of golf’s greatest stages by a player from the breakaway circuit.
Koepka is among 18 qualifiers from the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League at Augusta National, where talk of the PGA-LIV split has been set aside by players so they can focus on winning the green jacket.
“I don’t know if this is the place for healing those wounds,” two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal said.
The PGA Tour banned players who jumped to the upstart series for record $25-million purses and 54-hole events and a court fight is set for early 2024, but Majors allow LIV golfers who qualify to compete.
“Once you make a decision like that, you have to take it with all the consequences,” Spaniard Olazabal said. “I don’t think it would be fair for anybody that moved over there to have the right to play either on the PGA or DP World tour.”
Koepka, the 2017 and 2018 US Open champion and 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship winner, was in the fifth group out Friday with cold, windy and rainy conditions expected by the afternoon and all of Saturday.
“It might end up turning into a marathon if we have pretty wet, kind of windy conditions on the weekend,” Day said.
World No 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler was two over on the day and two under overall after 11 holes while US amateur Sam Bennett had three birdies and a bogey to stand fifth on six under through 11 holes.
© Agence France-Presse
