You can read Woodland\u2019s story here.<\/a><\/p>\nThu, April 9, 2026 at 12:49 PM PDT<\/p>\n
A year ago, McIlroy ended Round 1 seven shots back of the lead. This year, he\u2019s in a much better position, finishing off with a 67, putting him in a tie with Sam Burns for the clubhouse lead.<\/p>\n
Sounds great, right?<\/p>\n
Well, yes, until you remember the only other time he held the lead after Round 1 was 2011, when he infamously gave up a massive lead on Sunday to let the green jacket slip away and ultimately elude him for more than a decade.<\/p>\n
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775769250_770_dims.jpeg\"\/)
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:47 PM PDT<\/p>\n
Jay Hart<\/p>\n
Ludvig \u00c5berg is the popular pick to win his first major, and he had it going through eight holes. But at the ninth, well, the wheels came off a bit. After putting his drive into the pine straw, \u00c5berg had to scramble and wound up with a double, dropping him from -3 to -1.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:41 PM PDT<\/p>\n
Jay Hart<\/p>\n
Considering where DeChambeau sits, let\u2019s dig into how the Masters cutline works, which is quite simple: Top 50 and ties make it to the weekend.<\/p>\n
DeChambeau, at +4, currently sits T63.<\/p>\n
Othere big names on the wrong side as of now include Jon Rahm (+3) and Bubba Watson (+4).<\/p>\n
![\"Ryan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775769250_516_dims.jpeg\"\/)
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:31 PM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
If he didn\u2019t have that bunker meltdown on No. 11, Bryson DeChambeau wouldn\u2019t be in a terrible spot. But with that triple bogey, and a bogey at the 18th after he missed a long par save, DeChambeau is now at 4-over.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s going to have to work to make the cut on Friday.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 12:00 PM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
Make it three straight for Rory McIlroy now after his birdie at the 15th. He pulled the latest one off after sending his drive on the par-5 way off to the left into the trees, too.<\/p>\n
McIlroy\u2019s tied with Burns at 5-under with a real chance to take the clubhouse lead.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:36 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
Scottie Scheffler just drove the green at the par-4 third after his eagle, which left him with a very easy two-putt birdie.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s only two off the lead now with 15 holes to go today. Scheffler appears to be on a mission today.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:28 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
After an easy birdie at the par-5 13th, Rory McIlroy is now just two off the lead.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see how this final stretch goes for him.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 11:24 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
The top-ranked golfer in the world opened with an eagle at the second today, too. Talk about a fast start.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:48 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
Well, things are not going well for Bryson DeChambeau so far at Augusta. He just made a triple bogey after needing three attempts at getting out of the bunker at No. 11. His drive landed in the middle of the fairway before that, too.<\/p>\n
Not great \u2026 but it\u2019s relatable. So there\u2019s that?<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:45 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Ryan Young<\/p>\n
Shane Lowry was perfect from the middle of the fairway for the latest eagle out on the course so far today. He\u2019s now just one back of the leaders.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:17 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Jay Hart<\/p>\n
After a sluggish start, the defending champ has birdied Nos. 8 and 9 to get it to -2 and onto the first page of the leaderboard.<\/p>\n
Remember, only three players have ever gone back-to-back at Augusta National: Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:12 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Should we be surprised that Fred Couples is in red numbers in the early going, carding birdies at Nos. 1 and 2?<\/p>\n
Probably not, considering Freddie has the smoothest swing golf has ever seen.<\/p>\n
Even at 66, Couples still has it. But can it hold up enough to make his first cut since 2023?<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 10:05 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Jay Hart<\/p>\n
There are scores to be had on the front nine at Augusta National, which is always true \u2014 particularly if you can take advantage of the two par 5s. Patrick Reed did just that, eagling both.<\/p>\n
Now he heads to the more difficult back nine, where he\u2019s already dropped a shot at 10.<\/p>\n
A number of players have gone to the back in red numbers, only to watch them turn black quickly. Only Kristoffer Reitan, thus far, has managed to buck that trend, carding a birdie and an eagle at Nos. 12 and 13, respectively, to get to -3.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 9:40 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Quite literally \u2026 at No. 8, Schauffele\u2019s drive wound up in a woman\u2019s shopping bag.<\/p>\n
He\u2019d go on to par the hole.<\/p>\n
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 9:36 AM PDT<\/p>\n
Jay Hart<\/p>\n
At the par 3 sixth hole, Bryson DeChambeau yanked his tee shot to the left and, well, this happened:<\/p>\n
Thanks to the lucky bounce off a patron, DeChambeau was able to get up and down for par. Through 8, he\u2019s still even par.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 90th edition of the Masters is officially here. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson hit the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":593303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[443],"tags":[156332,1975,49,48,126847,13260,622,13983,1977,6984,1976,1974,82,91292],"class_list":{"0":"post-593302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-augusta-national","9":"tag-bryson-dechambeau","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-canada","12":"tag-career-grand-slam","13":"tag-gary-player","14":"tag-golf","15":"tag-jack-nicklaus","16":"tag-jon-rahm","17":"tag-major-championship","18":"tag-rory-mcilroy","19":"tag-scottie-scheffler","20":"tag-sports","21":"tag-tom-watson"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=593302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/593302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/593303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=593302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=593302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=593302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Jay](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775769249_531_dims.jpeg\"\/)
Thu, April 9, 2026 at 1:52 PM PDT<\/p>\n![\"AUGUSTA,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/bda12f1b-2e9c-4a34-b651-0e41907dca90.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n