World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was the consensus odds-on favorite to win the 2026 Masters before the prestigious golf tournament teed off on Thursday.
Scheffler has had a lackluster start to the year, but nobody expected Scheffler to be nowhere in sight at the top of the leaderboard through the first 36 holes. Scheffler ended Friday’s second round in a tie for 24th at even par.
Scheffler looked more like himself in the early goings on Saturday.
The two-time Masters champion was painfully close to nailing an eagle on the 9th hole. After the ball lipped out, Scheffler closed out the ninth with a birdie. He shot 31 through the round’s first nine holes — his lowest first nine score, according to GOLF.com, and shot up the leaderboard to inside the top 5.
As of this writing, Scheffler sits at six-under-par through 14 holes.
While it’s always a treat to watch the best in the world golf like the best in the world, Scheffler’s Saturday heroics might be for naught.
Rory McIlroy logged a stellar second round to enter Saturday at 12-under-par. The reigning Masters champion is firmly in control and the favorite to win his second straight green jacket, which would make him just the fourth back-to-back Masters champion in history. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Nick Faldo did it previously, with Woods’ 2001 and 2002 feats being the most recent.
But as McIlroy, Scheffler, and all golfers know all too well, nothing is ever set in stone at Augusta National. At the very least, impressive performances from the likes of Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, and Shane Lowry will put pressure on McIlroy and make Sunday more compelling.
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