AUGUSTA: Four-time major winner and LIV Golf rebel Brooks Koepka seized command of the Masters with a sizzling five-under par 67, grabbing a five-stroke lead early in Friday’s second round at Augusta National.

Koepka torched the famed course’s par-5 holes for an eagle and three birdies in a bogey-free round. His superb shotmaking followed an opening 65, his low Masters round, and left him on 12-under 132 for 36 holes.

Australia’s Jason Day, was on 7-under overall through 15 holes after a double bogey at the par-5 15th.

Day birdied the par-5 second and made another at the third after dropping his approach three feet from the hole. After going bogey-birdie to end his front nine, Day birdied 11 and 13 before his disaster at 15.

That dropped him back level for second place with Spain’s Jon Rahm and Norway’s Viktor Hovland, who both opened with 65s and had just started their second rounds.

Koepka made a birdie at the par-5 second to grab the solo lead, then curled in a tricky 10-foot par putt at the third after chipping his approach over the green.

The 32-year-old Ameri­can eagled the par-5 eighth after a brilliant approach shot to reach 10-under, becoming the fastest to that mark at a Masters since Jordan Spieth on his way to victory in 2015.

Koepka cleared Rae’s Creek in two at the extended par-5 13th and notched another birdie, then added one more at the 15th.

Koepka was in the fifth group out on Friday with cold, windy and rainy conditions expected by the afternoon and all of Saturday.

World number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler was 2-over on the day and 2-under overall after 11 holes while US amateur Sam Bennett had three birdies and a bogey to stand fifth on 6-under through 11 holes.

Woods, a 15-time major winner and five-time Masters champion, had just started after struggling to a 74 on Thursday, right on the projected 2-over cutline.World number two Rory McIlroy, who needs a Masters victory to complete a career Grand Slam, was 4-over overall through 10 holes.

On Thursday, Hovland, Rahm and Koepka shared the first-round lead, taking advantage of easier-than-usual conditions to card seven-under par 65s.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2023