We’re almost through the second round of the 2020 Masters. After a full day of golf on Friday, the afternoon wave had between six and nine holes remaining before the third round. ESPN coverage will resume at 7:30 a.m. EST Saturday morning.

BUT FIRST … a Shotgun Start weekend props pool!

Andy and Brendan are partnering with Smith Devereux Wines on a weekend Masters pool! Compete for your chance to win Smith Devereux wines and SGS merchandise. Careful, though: some questions involve players in danger of missing the cut! ENTER HERE

Friday notes

Augusta National remains soft and gettable, but the second-round pin positions made for a compelling Friday at the Masters. Masters Leaderboard

The cream is rising to the top. As things stand now, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Abe Ancer, and Cam Smith are tied for the lead at -9. All four finished their second rounds today. Of those who will have to finish up on Saturday morning, Jon Rahm (-8 through 12), Hideki Matsuyama (-8 through 15), and Louis Oosthuizen (-7 through 12) have the best shot at joining or passing the lead group. If Rahm is able to get to -9 or better, the top three players in the Official World Golf Ranking will all be in the lead group on moving day.

Despite soft conditions putting a premium on driving distance, non-bombers Cam Smith, Abe Ancer, and C.T. Pan find themselves in the top 10. All were 73rd or worse in driving distance on the PGA Tour in 2020. It may be tough for them to keep up with the likes of DJ and Rahm for 72 holes, but you never know.

After playing just nine holes on Thursday, Rory McIlroy started Friday with an abysmal second-nine 39 to finish off a first-round 75. Less than 30 minutes later, however, McIlroy fired a second-round 66 to move back inside the cut line. He’s not quite in contention yet, but another 66 would do the trick.

Sungjae Im came out blazing on Friday, posting a first-round 66 followed by a 70. The 22-year-old phenom has never recorded a top 10 in a major championship, but now he finds himself one shot off the lead.

Brooks Koepka recovered from a poor performance on Thursday by blitzing the final four holes of his first round. He then followed that opening 70 with a 69 in his second round to climb into the top 25. He’ll need to play phenomenal golf on Saturday, but Brooks is very much in the mix.

Friday was not the day Bryson DeChambeau was hoping for. He lost a ball on the 3rd hole because of wet conditions left of the green and ended up writing down a 39 for his first nine. On No. 13, however, he delivered the tee shot he’s been promising and put a wedge within eagle distance before the horn was blown. Bryson is currently +1 for the tournament, one shot outside of the projected cut line.

Tiger Woods is currently even par through 10 holes of his second round and -4 for the tournament. He will restart his round with the approach to No. 11 and will need to make a few birdies to close in on the leaders.

Give it up for Bernhard Langer! The 63-year-old shot 69-72 and will play the weekend.

The Latest from The Fried Egg

In case you missed it, check out our latest edition of Fried Egg Stories! In this episode, Garrett Morrison talks with some experts about America’s obsession with perfectly green golf courses. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

The Shotgun Start: Masters Friday: Is a ball ever really “lost?, the Rory ride, and Westy dejection

Andy and Brendan have a merry chat about all that went down on Friday at Augusta National. They inadvertently begin with Bryson’s lost ball, pondering the last time a ball was lost like that in the middle of the property at Augusta National and Bryson exploring the limits of the definition of “lost.” There’s amusement at Paul Casey perhaps changing his shirt due to Twitter shaming and Justin Thomas telling SVP “I love you.” They ponder whether Tiger or Phil has a better chance to win heading to the weekend. Then they re-live Rory’s absolute whirlwind of a day that followed the usual Rory blueprint for the Masters. Andy’s mood and voice then plummets as he assesses Westy’s putting. With a football weekend now on tap, they close with an amusing game of “If Bryson is a linebacker, then…” Thanks to Twitter replies, ESPN’s Kevin Van Valkenburg, Will Knights, and others for contributing to this fun Friday game wherein Phil is Brett Favre, Woosie is a fullback, and Rory is Aaron Rodgers. Listen on iTunes, Stitcher, and Spotify.

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