Scottie Scheffler Surges Up Masters Leaderboard After Tough Begin

[ad_1] World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was the consensus odds-on favourite to win the 2026 Masters earlier than the celebrated golf match teed off on Thursday.

Scheffler has had a lackluster begin to the 12 months, however no one anticipated Scheffler to be nowhere in sight on the prime of the leaderboard by the primary 36 holes. Scheffler ended Friday's second spherical in a tie for twenty fourth at even par.

Scheffler regarded extra like himself within the early goings on Saturday.

The 2-time Masters champion was painfully near nailing an eagle on the ninth gap. After the ball lipped out, Scheffler closed out the ninth with a birdie. He shot 31 by the spherical's first 9 holes — his lowest first 9 rating, in keeping with GOLF.com, and shot up the leaderboard to inside the highest 5.

As of this writing, Scheffler sits at six-under-par by 14 holes.

<img id="11816212" alt="" caption="AUGUSTA, GEORGIA - APRIL 10: Scottie Scheffler of the United States tees off on the 5th hole during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club on April 10, 2026 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)" credit="" sourcealt="" sources="[]" fetchpriority="auto" loading="lazy" width="4650" height="3100" decoding="async" data-nimg="1" src="color:transparent;aspect-ratio:inherit;object-fit:cover" sizes="(min-width: 1200px) 1536px, (min-width: 768px) 768px, 100vw" srcset="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=640&quality=80&webp=1 640w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=750&quality=80&webp=1 750w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=1000&quality=80&webp=1 1000w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=1200&quality=80&webp=1 1200w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=1360&quality=80&webp=1 1360w, https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1 1600w" bad-src="https://assets.newsweek.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/GettyImages-2270126526.jpg?w=1600&quality=80&webp=1"/> Whereas it is all the time a deal with to observe the perfect on the earth golf like the perfect on the earth, Scheffler's Saturday heroics may be for naught.

Rory McIlroy logged a stellar second spherical to enter Saturday at 12-under-par. The reigning Masters champion is firmly in management and the favourite to win his second straight inexperienced jacket, which might make him simply the fourth back-to-back Masters champion in historical past. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Nick Faldo did it beforehand, with Woods' 2001 and 2002 feats being the latest.

However as McIlroy, Scheffler, and all golfers know all too properly, nothing is ever set in stone at Augusta Nationwide. On the very least, spectacular performances from the likes of Scheffler, Patrick Reed, Cameron Younger, Sam Burns, and Shane Lowry will put strain on McIlroy and make Sunday extra compelling.