Leishman grabs early 2nd-round edge at Masters
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, April 12, 2014
Australia's Marc Leishman opened with three birdies yesterday to seize the early second-round lead at the 78th Masters with major winners Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen in hot pursuit.
Leishman, who only qualified for the Masters based on his major career-best fourth place showing last year at Augusta National, opened with a 70 but his sizzling start put him atop the leaderboard at 5 under.
The 30-year-old, who is ranked 69th in the world, won his only US PGA title at the 2012 Travelers Championship.
Bill Haas, who fired a 4-under 68 to lead the field of 97 after 18 holes, was among those set to tee off in the final groups of the afternoon.
Defending champion Adam Scott of Australia, who opened on 69, was in the penultimate group while two-time major winner Rory McIlroy, a fan and odds-makers favorite this week, was set to be the last man off the tee after opening on 71.
Watson, the 2012 Masters champion from the US who said he struggled with the ceremonial responsibilities last year as defending champion, opened with four pars to stay level with Scott on 3 under.
A host of players at 2 under included South Africa's Oosthuizen, the 2010 British Open winner who took bogeys at the par-3 fourth and par-4 seventh before bouncing back with a birdie at the par-5 eighth.
Haas, the 2011 US PGA playoff and Tour Championship winner seeks his first major title.
As warm and dry conditions allow the undulating greens to harden and become lightning-fast, Watson marveled at how the club recovered from ice storm damage in February that led to the removal of the giant 17th hole pine known as the Eisenhower Tree. "The course is in great shape. This is probably the best I've seen it in a long time," he said. "It's amazing. With the storms they had here, the ice storms, to have it in this pristine condition is remarkable. It sets up well for me."
Among those players with concern about reaching the weekend after poor starts are three reigning major champions — British Open champion Phil Mickelson (76), US Open champion Justin Rose (76) and 2013 PGA Championship winner Jason Dufner (80).
Also seeking a turnaround were Ernie Els (75), Jason Day (75), 2013 Masters runner-up Angel Cabrera (78) and England's Luke Donald (79).
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