Tony Finau survives cut, but everyone's still chasing Scottie Scheffler at 86th Masters

SALT LAKE CITY — Entering the 86th Masters, everyone was chasing World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

After 36 holes, everyone is still chasing Scheffler, including his playing partner Tony Finau.

Finau balanced a pair of birdies with five bogeys in shooting 3-over-par 75, wrapping up the second day of the Masters tied for 23rd and surviving the cut Friday at Augusta National Golf Club.

Scheffler surged to the top of the leaderboard, shooting 5-under 67 to tie for the largest lead after 36 holes in Masters history.

Recently tabbed No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, Scheffler carded seven birdies with just two bogeys to sit five shots clear of the second-place group that includes Charl Schwartzel, Hideki Matsuyama, Shane Lowry and Sungjae Im, the first-round leader who shot 74 to finish at 3-under 141.

Scheffler's five-stroke lead over the field is the largest in Masters 36-hole history; all four golfers who led by as much before him went on to win, according to PGA Tour stats and information.

"I feel like my game's in a good spot," Scheffler told ESPN after his round. "I've done a good job managing the golf course the last few days, made some really nice up and downs.

"I've kept the cards clean, which is nice."

Tiger Woods shot 2-over 74 Friday to finish with a two-day total of 1-over 145, making the cut by three strokes for the 22nd consecutive Masters tournament.

"It was blustery, it was windy, it was swirling all over the place," the five-time Masters champion told ESPN after making the cut in his first major since a horrific car accident 14 months ago. "I hit a couple of shots that I got a couple of bad gusts, and made a couple of bad swings on top of that.

"But I made the cut; I've got a chance going into the weekend. It's going to be the golf course that Augusta National wants tomorrow: quicker, dryer and faster. It will be a great test."

The rest of the field was up and down throughout the day, from the withdrawal of South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen with an apparent neck injury, to Stewart Cink's ace on the par-3 16th hole — with his son Reagan serving as his caddie.

Among the last golfers to tee off Friday, Finau started strong with a birdie on the par-5, 575-yard second hole. The Rose Park native got into some trouble around the turn with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 10 and 11, both par-4s. Finau managed the changes on the par-4, 520-yard 11th hole well during his opening round with a par, but the subtle differences from previous years caught up to him Friday afternoon.

"Not only did they lengthen the hole, but they kept the trees to either hit under or over," he told Real Golf Radio. "I would say it's twice as steep as in the past; when you bail out there, it's a lot harder shot.

"I think they stay true to the golf course, which I like. But it makes it a tougher test when you're hitting those shots."

Finau recovered well, sticking his tee shot on the par-3, 155-yard 12th hole to a few feet for a tap-in birdie, carding two birdies to his three bogeys for a balanced scorecard. But he added back-to-back bogeys at 14 and 15 — his first bogey on a par-5 in the first two rounds of the tournament after shooting 3-under on the Par-5s Thursday — to finish at 2-over.

The West High graduate had a birdie opportunity at No. 18, but his lengthy putt lipped out on his penultimate stroke of the second round.

Former BYU golfer Mike Weir shot 4-over 76 Friday, missing the cut by two strokes with a two-day total of 6-over 150. The 2003 Masters champion continued a tradition wherein no Par 3 Contest champion has won the Masters, carding five bogeys with just one birdie to finish tied for 60th and outside the cut line.

It's the first missed cut on the PGA Tour in the 2022 calendar year for Weir, the 51-year-old Canadian international who also has four starts on the Champions Tour. He must recently finished tied for 21st at the Hoag Classic, bringing his annual winnings to just over $58,000 on the senior tour.

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