It was not a good day for two recent Masters champions at Augusta. The past two winners, Sergio Garcia and Danny Willett, were among the notable players not to make the cut. For Garcia, it was his first missed cut at Augusta since 2014, but for Willet, it was his second MC in as many tries since claiming the green jacket in 2016. Other notables who won’t make it to Sunday include Jason Dufner, Charl Schwartzel and Thomas Pieters.
Garcia’s Masters will surely be defined by the catastrophic 13 he made on the 15th hole Thursday, losing five balls in the pond short of the green. Despite that, Garcia could have made the cut had he played well in the second round. After his first round 81, a Friday 68 would have done the trick. Regardless, he won’t be leaving ANGC anytime soon. Garcia will stick around throughout the weekend to honor this year’s champion at the green jacket ceremony following play.
Patrick Reed leads the pack at the moment. Reed is two shots ahead of the Australian Marc Leishman and five clear of Rory McIlroy, who hopes to finally complete the Grand Slam with a win at Augusta. Round 1 leader Jordan Spieth stumbled with a 74 Friday, but is also just five shots back.
