DeChambeau prowls around the green, sizing up all angles. Eventually he’s got to give it a go. And, from 48 feet, he makes it! A left-to-right slider that always looks like going in! DeChambeau knew it, giving his putter a little pump before the ball dropped. A 69, and bedlam around the green. A bogey for Justin Rose, though, and it’s a 75 for the 2013 US Open champ. A sensational end to a sensational day, as DeChambeau high-fives his way into the sunset. Hope you’ll join us for the big showdown tomorrow!

-12: McIlroy
-10: DeChambeau
-8: Conners
-6: Reed, Åberg
-5: Day, Scheffler, Lowry, Rose
-4: Z Johnson, Echavarria, Schauffele, Im

Bryson has a downhill lie in the bunker, and he’s not able to see over the steep face. But he makes a plan and whip-cracks his second into the top-left corner of the green. The pin’s on the other side, but both ball and cup are on the top shelf. An outside chance for birdie; two putts will ensure he’s in the final pairing with his old rival Rory.

Rory McIlroy sends his drive at 18 a bit closer to the trees down the right as he’d like. But he gets away with the tight line, avoiding the branches, then sends his second just past the pin, 15 feet to the left. Birdie to finish? Meanwhile back on the tee, Bryson DeChambeau skelps his drive into the first bunker down the left. The next few minutes may shape tomorrow’s story big-style.

Shane Lowry can’t get up and down from the bunker to the right of 18. It’s a bogey-bogey finish and the 2019 Open champ signs for a 72, ending the day where he started it at -5. Meanwhile his playing partner Matt McCarty has finished bogey, double bogey, bogey to slip down the rankings to -2. There goes that Vegas betting slip! Into confetti.

Bryson DeChambeau rolls an almost perfectly paced putt parallel with the fringe at the back of 17. It rolls four feet past, but on this warped LP of a green, it’s difficult to see how he could have done much better. He takes a good while considering the line, before making up his mind … the tension is palpable … then he rolls in the par saver. That’s a great par from where his second shot landed; not such a good one from the middle of the fairway with 7-iron in hand.

-12: McIlroy (17)
-9: DeChambeau (17)
-8: Conners (17)

Bryson DeChambeau, from the centre of the 17th fairway, pulls another 7-iron approach. He’s on the green, but back left with the pin back right. He’s 44 feet away, with a ridge to negotiate and possibly some fringe getting in the way. Meanwhile up on 18, Shane Lowry is in more bother, finding the trees down the left with his drive, then the bunker to the right of the green with his second. He’s short-sided from there.

Scottie Scheffler isn’t going to go quietly! He gets up and down from 111 yards on 18 to scramble his par and sign for a level-par 72. He’s -5 and probably too far back, given the number of players ahead of him. But if anyone can mount a huge comeback, it’s the reigning champion and world number one! Meanwhile back on 17, Rory McIlroy sends his second from 177 yards pin high to eight feet, but can’t make the birdie putt. Par will suffice, especially as he gave himself some work to do by running the first putt four feet past.

-12: McIlroy (17)
-9: DeChambeau (16)
-8: Conners (17)

A couple of missed putts that will hurt big. Shane Lowry reaches the front of 17 from the trees, then wedges delightfully to four feet. But he misses the par saver. Then back on 16, Justin Rose three-putts from four feet, turning birdie into bogey. Bryson DeChambeau doesn’t make it a hat-trick of misery, though. In goes his birdie putt, and as things stand, he’ll be in the final group tomorrow with Rory McIlroy. What a narrative this promises to be, after the dramatic denouement of last year’s US Open!

-12: McIlroy (16)
-9: DeChambeau (16)
-8: Conners (16)
-6: Reed (F), Åberg (F), Lowry (17), Rose (16)

Scottie Scheffler carves his drive at 18 into the pines down the right. He’s just not been at the races at all today. Very strange. He’s able to punch back onto the fairway, but it’s not happening. Jack Nicklaus’s record tear of three wins in four years – 1963, 1965 and 1966 – looks safe, unless Scheffler can find a solution on the range before tomorrow.

Rory crashes a drive down the middle of 17. Back on 16, Bryson eases a 7-iron into the centre of the green, the camber gathering the ball down towards the flag. He’ll have a huge opportunity for birdie from four feet … as will Justin Rose, who lands his tee shot stone dead to a similar distance.

A two-putt par for Rory McIlroy on 16. His birdie effort from 12 feet had so much left-to-right break. He’s happy enough as he walks off. Par for Corey Conners as well. Meanwhile back on 15, Bryson DeChambeau wedges up from the swale to six feet, then curls in the left-to-right putt for a fine birdie that in the circumstances, even if there are still 21 holes for him to play, he really needed to make.

-12: McIlroy (16)
-8: Conners (16), DeChambeau (15)

Bryson from the middle of 15. He pulls his second over the back-left of the green. He’ll have another testing up and down if he wants to make birdie. Meanwhile up on 17, Shane Lowry yanks his drive into the trees down the left. Nobody at the moment threatening to make a move on McIlroy.

Rory at 16. An 8-iron landed softly between the pin and the bunker, 12 feet past. He’ll have a look at birdie from there. Meanwhile in the match ahead, Matt McCarty is doing his best for the aforementioned punter who has lumped on him. Despite sending his tee shot at 16 into the drink, he managed to get up and down from the dropzone to limit the damage to bogey. He’s -5.

Nothing much has happened for Justin Rose today. Until now! He sends a 20-foot tramliner straight into the cup at 14 for birdie, and despite it all, he’s still in the hunt. Bryson DeChambeau scrambles his par. Although the cheer up on the 15th green will dishearten both men, because while Conners can’t make his birdie putt, prodding with great uncertainty at his ball, McIlroy rolls in his eagle putt with great determination. That determination’s written all over his face. Not too much celebration. Just a small fist pump, then back to work. Suddenly his lead is a healthy one again!

-12: McIlroy (15)
-8: Conners (15)
-7: Lowry (15), Rose (14), DeChambeau (14)

Now then, this has got the gallery cooking! Rory McIlroy bashes a 339-yard drive at 15 straight down the middle. It’s no secret that he’s picked up some scar tissue here this week, so what moxie he shows to send a nerveless approach over the water, pin high to six feet! That’s a huge opportunity for eagle. His partner Corey Conners is also close, nine feet away, but he’s taken three of your golf shots. With Bryson DeChambeau out of position on 14, having come up short of the green with a misjudged second, there could be some significant shoogling around at the top of the leaderboard soon. Or maybe not. Let’s see.

Matt McCarty makes his 14th par of the day at 15. Shane Lowry stabs a very gettable birdie chance left of the cup, and spurns the chance to move to -8 and within two of his old pal Rory. Hey, while we’re on the subject of McCarty, here’s our old pal Sean Ingle: “Someone had a bet with Circa in Las Vegas to win $2m on Matt McCarty before the tournament. Heard it on a podcast the other day. They initially wanted a bet that would win them $8m. He was about 300-1 beforehand as well. PS It wasn’t me.”

A fine up-and-down from the back of 14 by Rory McIlroy. No patrons were hurt in the making of this par save. Meanwhile up on 18, par for Ludvig Åberg, though he nearly holed out from 180 yards with his second! It bounded eight feet past and he couldn’t make the putt coming back. Still, that’s a 69, and with three birdies in the last five holes, he’s kept himself in with a shout, joining Patrick Reed in the clubhouse lead at -6.

Bryson DeChambeau has a downhill lie in the bunker at the back of 13. And the green slopes down towards Rae’s Creek. No wonder he splashes out gingerly, only just reaching the fringe. Two putts later and that’s a par, a poor return after such a promising drive. He remains at -7, and Justin Rose stays at -6, a birdie putt kinking left on the last turn, much to his anger. “You are joking me.” He is fuming. It’s not been his day.

Rory McIlroy hoicks his tee shot at 14 into the woods down the left. He gets a lucky bounce that doesn’t kick his ball back out, but does put him into position to take a shy over the trees and into the green. He flies the green and lands among the patrons. That’s not the worst outcome, all told, providing nobody’s taken a sore one upside the head, obviously.

Bryson from the middle of 13, hitting 7-iron after that monster drive. The perfect position … from which he tugs into the bunker at the back-left of the green. That’s a careless mistake. Birdie for Shane Lowry at 14, reward for sending his approach from 136 yards to ten feet. He’s now in a share of third with DeChambeau. And up on 18, birdie for Patrick Reed, his third in the last six holes. He signs for a 69 and is the new clubhouse leader at -6.

Xander Schauffele, having birdied 13 and 15, pars his way in for a round of 70. At -4 overall, the Open and PGA champion is probably a bit too far back to harbour realistic hopes about tomorrow, though he does have a share of the clubhouse lead with Zach Johnson and Nicolas Echavarria.

In fact McIlroy does have a decent stance, and is able to chip crisply to five feet. A good birdie chance. He’s missed one or two of those today, though. Meanwhile behind him, back on the tee, Bryson batters an absurdly good 325-yard drive all the way around the right-to-left dogleg. He’s in the centre of the fairway … from where he’ll get a good view of Rory tidying up for his first birdie in eight holes. That should settle him after an extremely dodgy 90 minutes. Par for Conners.

-10: McIlroy (13)
-8: Conners (13)
-7: DeChambeau (12)
-6: Åberg (17), McCarty (13), Lowry (13), Rose (12)
-5: Reed (17), Day (16)

Bryson can’t save himself this time. His downhill putt on 12 is always sliding wide right, and he slips back to -7. Up on 13, Rory slings a 5-iron into the green from 241 yards. It comes out of the first cut a bit hot, and nearly topples into a bunker at the back. He’ll have an awkward stance, that’s right on the lip. Meanwhile his partner Corey Conners lays up, then sends his wedge down a bank to the left of the green. A tricky up and down for his par.

Bryson DeChambeau dunks his tee shot at 12 into the bunker at the front. He gets a wee bit too much on his splash out and is left with a 12-footer coming back for par. The sort of thing he’s been making almost as a matter of course today. Meanwhile the unheralded Matt McCarty, having started out with 12 consecutive pars, finally breaks the run with birdie at 13. He’s -6.

Scottie Scheffler’s second into 13 initially looks good, but disappears into sand at the back. He can’t get up and down, and this is all very energy-lite from the world number one. Ludvig Åberg makes his birdie on 16; Viktor Hovland makes one on 14 after sending his second pin high to ten feet. But it’s a bogey for Justin Rose on 11, the result of sending his drive behind a tree.

-9: McIlroy (12)
-8: Conners (12), DeChambeau (11)
-6: Åberg (16), Day (15), Lowry (12), Rose (11)
-5: Reed (17), Hovland (14), McCarty (12)
-4: Z Johnson (F), Echavarria (F), Schauffele (17), Scheffler (13)

Åberg follows Reed in nearly acing 16. The pin’s in a position normally reserved for Sunday, so balls landing in the middle of the green are gathered down towards the water and the flag. His ball races four feet past, but he’ll still have a good look for birdie. Meanwhile back on the previous par-three, the 12th, Rory McIlroy sends his tee shot into Scheffler’s Swale. He putts his way out of trouble, to tap-in distance for par. Corey Conners makes par too, in more tense fashion, splashing out from the deep bunker at the front, then rolling in the ten-footer that remains.

Ludvig Åberg has been out of sight for most of the day since dropping early strokes at 1 and 4. But he’s launching a proper comeback bid here. Birdie at 8, and now back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15, and suddenly last year’s runner-up is involved again at -5. One more and he’ll be in very good nick ahead of tomorrow’s final round.

In other Hanging On news, here’s Rory McIlroy, who is currently suffering a round of two halves. His approach into 11 is held up by the wind, which is unfortunate; the dismal nature of his subsequent chip not so much. He carelessly leaves himself a six-footer for par, and in the context of the last few holes, it’s a biggie. To his credit, he teases it into the centre of the cup and remains one clear at -9. But everything was looking so easy for him earlier. Now it appears a dreadful struggle.

Jason Day chips in from the side of 14! The 2011 runner-up has been a little wayward over the past few holes but has somehow clung onto the edge of the race by his fingernails. And now here’s his reward. He’s back in it. Meanwhile on 16, the 2018 champion Patrick Reed is a couple of inches away from a hole-in one. He taps in for birdie and at -5 he’s far from out of this either.

Bryson DeChambeau is a street-fighting genius. He’s already made quite a few jaw-dropping up and downs today, and here’s another, a chip bumped into the face of the bank, the ball rolling out to kick-in distance. Par. But Scottie Scheffler can’t save his. It’s just not happening for the reigning champion. Meanwhile his playing partner Tyrrell Hatton, as previously predicted, brings the emotion, dropping his second stroke of the day after whistling his tee shot into the flowers, then flinging his ball into the drink once bogey is established. He’s -3, and that yipped tiddler on 17 yesterday has clearly punctured his mood and self-belief.

Bryson DeChambeau’s second into 10 hits the bank at the front and kicks off to the left. Scottie Land. He’s shortsided, so that’s not going to be much fun. Up on 12, Scheffler lobs up from the back of the green but leaves himself a tricky ten-footer for par.

For the second day running, Scottie Scheffler tugs his tee shot at 12 towards the azaleas back-left of the green. This time the ball doesn’t disappear into the darkness before popping back into the swale; it just drops into the swale. Hardly ideal, but then he chipped in from here yesterday, so watch out!

Zach Johnson is joined in the clubhouse lead by Nicolas Echavarria. A 69 for the 30-year-old Colombian on debut. Echavarria and Johnson end Moving Day at -4.

First up, there’s a big two-putt par save for Bryson DeChambeau on 9. He races his first one six feet past, but coming back, tickles in successfully where Rory McIlroy ahead of him had failed. He punches the air in triumph as he turns in 35. Meanwhile up in 10, Rory’s par effort is always missing on the right, and after such a fast start, this is now officially a proper wobble. And look how the leaderboard has concertinaed as a result!

-9: McIlroy (10)
-8: Conners (10), DeChambeau (9)
-7: Rose (9)
-6: Lowry (10)
-5: Day (13), Scheffler (11), McCarty (10)

From the centre of 10, 162 yards out, Corey Conners wedges to kick-in distance, one of the shots of the day. He’ll move to -8 and that’s a third birdie in a row for the Canadian, who is going about his business quietly and efficiently. Rory McIlroy by contrast takes one club too many, and faces a long putt back down the green. He sends his first one dribbling six feet past. Big par saver coming up?

Bryson DeChambeau splits the 9th fairway with another fine tee shot … only to leave his wedge 30 feet short of the flag. In fact he’s fortunate the ball didn’t screw back off the front, Greg Norman style. A long two-putt left for his par.

Jason Day drops only his second shot of the week. He tugs his tee shot at 12 towards the azaleas back-left, and can’t get up and down from the swale. He slips to -5, alongside Scottie Scheffler, who is still battling against himself: at 10, a misjudged approach hits the bank and bounces back down, front and left. A heavy-handed chip trundles 20 feet past the flag … but in goes the putt coming back. Between them, the USA’s two biggest stars, Scheffler and Bryson, have made some scrambles today. It’s how you win majors.

McIlroy gets a bit too confident with his downhill birdie putt on 9. He raps it through the break and rolls four feet past. Oo-er. But he makes the one coming back. Given what happened on the previous hole, that’s some good damage limitation I guess. But the lead’s only two now, because while Bryson DeChambeau can’t make his eagle putt on 8, he taps in for birdie. Justin Rose picks up a stroke as well, and suddenly things are a lot tighter than they looked 15 minutes ago.

-10: McIlroy (9)
-8: DeChambeau (8)
-7: Conners (9), Rose (8)
-6: Day (11), Lowry (9)
-5: Hovland (10), Scheffler (10), McCarty (9)

Rory McIlroy made a meal of 8. By comparison, Bryson DeChambeau is making mincemeat of it. Two big blooters, and he’s pin high! He’ll have a look at eagle from the fringe, 15 feet away. McIlroy responds up on 9 by sand-wedging from 113 yards to six feet for a fine birdie chance of his own.

Hats off to Viktor Hovland, who needed two shots to extricate himself from the pines down the left of 10 … then gets up and down from 150 yards to limit the damage to bogey! A sensational 30-footer across the green and he’s -5. A bogey that won’t hurt too much. Not so the one dropped by Shane Lowry on 9, the result of a weak splash out of a deep bunker at the front of the green. He turns in 35 and he’s -6 overall.

Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Rose are both wayward with their tee shots at 7. Always out of position, they both end up dropping a shot. Very scrappy. But they don’t lose ground at the top, because Rory McIlroy’s chip back up from the swale at 8 is way short, and this time his putter doesn’t dig him out of bother. Bogey, his first dropped shot since the ludicrous double at 17 on Thursday. The second easiest hole on the course as well.

-10: McIlroy (8)
-7: Lowry (8), DeChambeau (7)
-6: Day (10), Hovland (9), Conners (8), Rose (7)
-5: Scheffler (9), McCarty (8)
-4: Z Johnson (F), Im (10), Hatton (9)

Rory McIlroy is up against the tall face of the fairway bunker at 8. He clips the top of it with his escape and is left with a long iron coming in. His third bounds off the back of the green and there’s another par scramble coming up. Trouble also for Victor Hovland, who sends his tee shot at 10 deep into the trees near the cabins down the left, and isn’t able to hack out with his first attempt. He just about manages it with his second. This could end up being costly.

Rory McIlroy isn’t the only player making outrageous par saves. Here’s Jason Day, lashing his tee shot at 10 deep into the trees down the right. He batters out from the pin straw, under hanging branches, into the bunker front right. That’s pretty much the best outcome possible, and he splashes out to four feet before making the putt. He remains at -6, and has still only dropped one stroke this week, on 18 yesterday. That bogey was a wee shame, too, because had he parred, he’d have become the first player since Ed Sneed in 1979 to go bogey-free for the opening two rounds.

Trouble In Paradise dept. Here’s Ewan Murray on a mud-ball controversy raging at Augusta.

OK, so Rory McIlroy has one foot in and one foot out of The Zone. He larrups a long drive up the par-five 8th, but it’s always leaking a little to the right and ends up in the big bunker. All is however not lost. Meanwhile up ahead, Viktor Hovland makes back-to-back birdies at 8 and 9 to turn in 34 strokes. He’s -6.

Well, here’s the end of Rory’s run of threes … but it’s a quite brilliant par save nonetheless. He was in all sorts of bother after that wild drive, but lobbed greenside. He was still faced with an awkward chip up and over a ridge running across the green … but knocked it to a couple of feet. Such a delicate wedge. In goes the par putt, and given the tee shot, that’ll feel as good as a birdie. He remains at -11.

Bryson replicates Rory’s antics on 6. A conservative tee shot into the heart of the green that leaves a 40-footer. A putt raced eight feet past the flag. Big par putt coming up. In it goes. He’s hanging on all right. Justin Rose meanwhile celebrates a par saver of similar distance. They’re -8 and -7 respectively. Meanwhile on 8, Scottie Scheffler’s (relative) woes continue as he leaves his wedge into the generous par-five a good 25 feet short. The birdie putt never looks like dropping, and the defending champ looks strangely short of energy. He remains -5.

Perhaps Rory McIlroy is still in The Zone after all. From 137 yards, he opens the face of his club skywards and gives it everything to get up and over the trees. His ball lands near the green to the left, which is some result from where he was, albeit one that leaves a very testing up and down, from a swale, across a viciously tilting green. If he chips in from here to keep that run of threes going, they may as well award him the Green Jacket now.

More on Rory, while we can, because he’s deep in the trees down the right of 7, and there doesn’t seem to be an obvious way out, never mind to the green. “So, six holes, six threes,” observes Matt Emerson. “If he keeps this up he’s shooting 54.”

Perhaps Rory’s finally sailing out of The Zone. Because he’s followed up that comparatively shaky par on 6 by carving his drive at 7 towards the 17th tee box! Some fun upcoming here. So while his argument is still relevant, here’s Adam Hirst: “This isn’t the Rory of recent times. It is the Rory of 2012. Despite being at the top of the tree, and even winning two majors, he never quite reached those levels again, when he can run away from a very good field. He hasn’t done that for more than a decade.”

Scottie Scheffler gets a flyer from the second cut down the left of 7. His ball sails over the green and dunks into the bunker behind. He’s splashing out downhill, so does pretty well to get his ball to stop eight feet past. But he can’t make the one coming back. A bogey that felt like it was coming. Meanwhile it’s a second successive up-and-down from sand for Bryson DeChambeau, this time at 5. He’s unlucky because the pin stopped that dropping straight in. He remains three off the lead.

-11: McIlroy (6)
-8: DeChambeau (5)
-7: Lowry (6), Rose (5)
-6: Day (8), Im (8)
-5: Hovland (8), Scheffler (7), McCarty (6), Conners (6)

BREAKING NEWS: Rory McIlroy is not perfect. He finds the heart of the green at the par-three 6th, but he’s nowhere near the flag. The careful play. He’s got something to lose now. Even so, two putts from 48 feet and it’ll be a card of 3-3-3-3-3-3.

!

Rory McIlroy rattles home his right-to-left slider on 5 for another birdie, and this is quite absurd, he’s opened with 3-3-3-3-3! He’s already five under for his round. Back on 4, Justin Rose carelessly three-putts to drop out of a share for second; that’s his third bogey in ten holes. His playing partner Bryson DeChambeau meanwhile splashes out elegantly from the sand to kick-in distance, and that’s a fine sandy par. And up on 6, Shane Lowry’s reward for one of the tee shots of the day, to three feet, is birdie. What price an all-Ireland final pairing tomorrow?

-11: McIlroy (5)
-8: DeChambeau (4)
-7: Lowry (6), Rose (4)
-6: Day (9), Im (7), Scheffler (6), Conners (5)

Bryson DeChambeau dunks his tee shot at 4 into the bunker guarding the front-right of the par-three green. The pin’s back-left. Up on the supposedly treacherous 5th, Rory McIlroy lands his 342-yard drive safely to the right of the dangerous fairway bunkers, then clips his approach from 173 yards to 18 feet. He’ll have an outside look at birdie, and two putts for a par you’d take all day long. And on 6, from the bottom of the swale at the back, Soft-Hands Scottie bumps his chip into the bank, his ball bouncing gently up onto the green before rolling out serenely to a couple of feet. What a par save that is. Bogey looked most likely. Once again, Scheffler is flat-out refusing to go away despite not being quite in control of his game.

Bryson DeChambeau is up and out of his putt very quickly. It’s always breaking wide left. A careless bogey on a hole that’s given up 18 birdies today and is averaging 3.7 strokes. Meanwhile on the par-three 6th, Scottie Scheffler airmails his iron over the green. He’s down the bottom of a swale with very little green to work with up top. That’ll test his soft hands.

-10: McIlroy (4)
-8: Rose (3), DeChambeau (3)
-6: Day (7), Im (7), Scheffler (5), Lowry (5), Conners (4)

Rory’s tee shot at 4 lands pin high, but just off the green to the left. He takes putter anyway, and nearly makes the 30-footer from the fringe. Just (!) a par, and it’s now a start of 3-3-3-3. That’s how he started the back nine yesterday. Meanwhile a spot of trouble for Bryson on 3, as he slips while taking his tee shot and sends his ball miles left. His second hits the bank and topples back down; his third sticks on the dancefloor but 15 feet past the flag. Big par putt coming up.

Shane Lowry mishits his tee shot at the par-three 4th. Short and right. He’s left with a tricky wedge over the bunker and can’t get close enough to save his par. He slips back to -6. Meanwhile a staunch scramble by Scottie Scheffler at 5. A spot of luck as his drive lands between the two big fairway bunkers down the left. His second finds greenside sand, from where he gets up and down. Like last night, there remains a sense that he’s not quite got his A-game right now. Like last night, he’s hanging on in there. He remains -6.

Rory McIlroy does indeed start 3-3-3. He tickles in his birdie putt on 3, pretty much the same straight one Shane Lowry had moments earlier. Perhaps a little left-to-right action, but only a smidgen. Either way, this is a preposterously fast start by McIlroy, who is now nine-under par for his last 12 holes. Meanwhile on 2, Bryson DeChambeau makes a two-putt from the best part of 100 feet for birdie. He’s started birdie-birdie, yet somehow is not the story. At the moment.

-10: McIlroy (3)
-9: DeChambeau (2)
-8: Rose (2)
-7: Lowry (3), Conners (3)
-6: Day (6), Scheffler (4)

Another birdie for Shane Lowry! A rare straight putt at Augusta, on 3, and the 2019 Open champion is right in this now. He’s -7. Following him in the group behind, Rory McIlroy bangs his tee shot to the bottom of the bank in front of the green. He lobs his chip up to seven feet, and he’ll have a putt for a birdie and a 3-3-3 start. Meanwhile a long rake for birdie on 8 for Tommy Fleetwood, and he’s -3, not out of this quite yet.

… Rory McIlroy chips in from the back of 2 for eagle! His shot in, arrowed straight at the flag, was never going to hold the small section of green, and toppled down a little swale behind. No matter, because he steers a gentle right-to-left curling chip into the cup. Like Bryson’s putt before it, that always looked like it was heading in. This is positively psychedelic, and we’re only a couple of holes into Moving Day! On Sky, Dame Laura Davies is also on a hot streak, wryly observing that we’ve had “three leaders in the last 25 seconds.” Corey Conners’ fuss-free birdie goes almost unnoticed, while elsewhere there’s par for Justin Rose at 1, and birdie for Jason Day at 5. This is shaping up to be a Masters for the ages.

-9: McIlroy (2)
-8: Rose (1), DeChambeau (1)
-7: Conners (2)
-6: Day (5), Hovland (4), Scheffler (3), Lowry (2)
-5: Im (5), McCarty (2)
-4: Z Johnson (F), Hatton (3)

An outrageous opening birdie for Bryson DeChambeau! His approach into 1 sails over the flag and only just holds the back of the green. He’s left with a 45-footer coming back, over a ridge and with some right-to-left drift. Surely not? Yep! It’s one of those that somehow looked in all the way, from the moment it left the face of his putter. Simply sensational, and that’s got the crowd pumping! But if you think that’s dramatic …

Rory McIlroy looks in the mood to cause bedlam with his big stick today. He creams another drive, this time at 2, straight down the middle. It also lands on the downslope behind the big fairway bunker, some frankly unnecessary help. Just 369 yards this time. “I think you need a stewardess for things in the air for that long,” deadpans the always-entertaining Dame Laura Davies on Sky Sports. Meanwhile up on the green, Rory’s compatriot and friend Shane Lowry gets up and down from the front to make birdie and move to -6.

Bryson DeChambeau isn’t going to beat Rory McIlroy’s 371-yard mark on Tea Olive. Because he’s not going to try. Out comes the 3-wood, which he belts down the middle. He’s got a bit more self-discipline these days, does Bryson. Justin Rose’s tee shot leaks off to the right. Meanwhile up on the green, McIlroy rolls in his birdie putt to make an immediate move. Also news of the resurgent Viktor Hovland, who follows birdie at 2 with another at 3, and Moving Day is already beginning to bubble up nicely!

-8: Rose
-7: McIlroy (1), DeChambeau
-6: Hovland (3), Scheffler (2), Conners (1)
-5: Day (4), Im (4), McCarty (1), Lowry (1)
-4: Z Johnson (F), Morikawa (6), Hatton (2)

So, that McIlroy drive of 371 yards. It’s unsurprisingly the longest of the day at Tea Olive. The next best? Patrick Cantlay’s 315-yard effort. Bryson still to come, of course. And Rory’s wedge in is good, but not spectacular. He’ll have a look at birdie from 10 feet. Compare and contrast Scottie Scheffler’s wedge into 2, spun back to kick-in distance from 108 yards. The birdie moves the defending champ to -6.

“Fore please, Rory McIlroy now driving!” What a response yesterday to Thursday evening’s double-fiascos at 15 and 17. Back in 31 for a spotless round of 66. And now he’s absolutely striped his opening tee shot down the track. A 371-yard drive to begin. Safe to say his playing partner Corey Conners will be hitting first into most greens today.

The reigning Open and PGA champion Xander Schauffele rakes one in from downtown on 6. It’s his second birdie of the round, but he doesn’t celebrate too wildly, given it follows dropped shots at 3 and 5. He’s back to where he started the day at -2.

Scottie Scheffler can’t make his birdie at 1. Just a par, which is more than his playing partner Tyrrell Hatton can manage. Hatton is unable to splash out close from the bunker at the front of the green, and he immediately falls back to -4. After his shaky finish to last night’s round, that’s three shots gone in four holes for the Liverpool FC supporting star. Some consolation may be found in Arsenal dropping points at home to Brentford?

It couldn’t last for Zach Johnson. He finds the bunker guarding the front of the 17th green, and can’t get up and down for a sandy par. He slips to -4. Going the other way: Jason Day, who birdies 2 to move to -5.

Eagle on 2 for the 2020 runner-up Im Sung-jae! A chip-in from 20 yards off the front. A couple of bounces before it rolls out and in. Glorious. He moves up to -5. Back on 1, Scottie Scheffler has to shape his second around some overhanging branches, and does so marvellously, landing his short iron from 145 yards pin high. He’ll have a look at birdie from nine feet.

“Fore please, Scottie Scheffler now driving.” Here’s the defending champion and world number one, who was uncharacteristically untidy yesterday, yet still managed to grind out a one-under round of 71. By all accounts he was on the range late last night, not in a particularly good humour, as he battled to get his game back into the easy-going shape of Thursday. His opening drive finds the first cut down the left. A slight narrowing of the eyes as he peers after it, but no great drama. He’ll no doubt leave all that emotional nonsense to Entertainment’s Tyrrell Hatton, who he’s going round with today.

News of another former champion who has been enjoying himself today. The 2015 winner Jordan Spieth is back home having shot a blemish-free round of 69, his birdies coming at 8, 9 and 13. He was so unlucky that a 20-footer left-to-right swinging putt from the fringe at the back of 15 didn’t drop as well. And he nearly chipped in from the back of 18. So close to being so much better. At -1 overall he’s the very early clubhouse leader alongside debutant Max Greyserman.

Zach Johnson continues to blister his way around Augusta National, the 2007 champion rolling back the years on his 21st Masters start. He’s now birdied 15 and 16, making it six birdies in eight holes. He’s -5 overall, and properly in the mix. Should he par his way home, he’ll be signing for a joint-best-of-week 65.

-8: Rose
-7: DeChambeau
-6: McIlroy, Conners
-5: Z Johnson (16), McCarty, Lowry, Scheffler, Hatton
-4: Reed (3), Morikawa (2), Day (1), R Højgaard, Hovland
-3: Åberg (2), Matsuyama (2), Im (1)
-2: Rahm (16), An (12), Harman (5), Schauffele (4), Fleetwood (4)

Four birdies in a row for An Byeong-hun! Holes 8 through 11. With the exception of the first of those, a par-five that’s playing easiest all week, that’s supposed to be a very tricky run of holes. Well, not for An, who is beginning to enjoy himself around here, his tie for 16th last time round his best finish in the Masters. He’s -2 overall.

Tom Kim was the first man out today. With an odd number of players having made the cut – 53 - he went round with marker Michael McDermott, the Jeff Knox de nos jours, an Augusta National member good enough to have beaten future pro JB Holmes at the 2003 US Amateur. The relaxed atmosphere seems to have suited the fun-loving Kim to a tee, because he’s carded his best round of the week, a level-par 72, finishing with one heck of a flourish: lobbing high from just off the front of the 18th green, his ball taking one bounce before slam-dunking into the cup in outrageous fashion! Kim throws his putter into the sky, punches the air, then embraces McDermott, the pair hugging and laughing in a very infectious manner. Seek out the footage on the Masters website and try not to grin like a loon. It is impossible not to love Tom Kim.

An extremely smiley Bryson DeChambeau has a chat with CBS Sports. “If I can just keep it in the fairway … iron shots into the green … I watch a lot … see what players are doing … where the pin locations are … how people are playing it … trying to get comfortable with that … get my day started off a little late on purpose … feel comfortable like I’m just getting up, getting ready to go play some golf and have a good time … I’m excited … it’s gonna be a lot of fun!”

Shot of the week at 12 by Denny McCarthy! At the 155-yard par-three, he lands his ball five feet in front of the flag. A couple of tiny bounces take it a couple of feet closer, but no further. That’s a kick-in birdie, though. The 32-year-old from Florida, whose best finish here was a modest tie for 45th last year, moves into the red at -1 overall. So close there to only the fourth ace at 12 in Masters history. The others: the two-time US Open champion Curtis Strange in 1988, the amateur Bill Hyndman in 1959, and Claude Harmon, Butch’s dad, in 1947 (a year before his victory).

A downbeat start to Tommy Fleetwood’s round. He misreads a long putt from the back of 1, the ball ending pin high but having broken seven feet to the right. The attempt to save par is pulled left straight off the bat. The bogey knocks him back to -1. But in the following match it’s a fast start for one of the pre-tournament hot tips, though, as Collin Morikawa swishes his approach from 150 yards pin high and strokes in the ten-footer for birdie. He’s -4.

Rory McIlroy talks to CBS Sports. “It’s the same mindset today … take care of what I’m doing … try not to look around … try not watch the leaderboards … though they’re big and white and pretty unavoidable! … letting the score come to me … not trying to force the issue … follow the same plan I followed yesterday.”

Zach Johnson plays the par-five 13th in textbook fashion. A drive down the middle. A lay-up wedge around the corner. A chip from 85 yards to a couple of feet. That’s a birdie, and more evidence from him that you don’t need boom-boom length to succeed at Augusta National. It helps, of course it helps, the roll of honour shows that. But it’s not a complete deal-breaker. He’s now five under for his round today, and -3 overall.

Some Good Scoring dept. Some former champions are out there proving a low number is possible. Jon Rahm, of LIV Golf and Buyer’s Remorse fame, whose victory here somehow feels a lot longer than just a couple of years ago, flew out of the blocks this morning with three consecutive birdies. He’s currently level par for the Tournament. The 2015 champ Jordan Spieth has birdied 8, 9 and 13 in a currently flawless round; he’s -1 overall. And 2007 winner Zach Johnson is currently the hottest property out on the, er, property, having made birdies at 9, 10 and 12 plus eagle at 2. One bogey blemish at 6, and he’s -2 overall.

It’s a sunny day at Augusta National, if not a particularly warm one. The wind is expected to pick up a little as the day goes on, but not to any great extent, and not as blustery as yesterday afternoon. An outside chance of a rain shower later as well, though even if it arrives, nothing too dramatic is forecast. Throw in some attractive pin placements, and conditions are ripe for some good scoring.

Dunlap’s valedictory round would have been even more impressive had he not finished with three consecutive bogeys. But that wasn’t the most egregious late-round meltdown yesterday. Oh no. Not by a long chalk. Step forward 2019 and 2023 runner-up Brooks Koepka, who would be competing right now had he managed to make bogey at 18 last night. Sadly for the five-time major winner, he pulled his tee shot into the trees down the left and was forced to take an unplayable. After chopping back out, he short-sided himself in a swale to the left of the green with his fourth, chipped up weakly, and three-putted from there. A quadruple-bogey eight. Ooo-wee. Whether he feels as bad as Cameron Young, who would also be here today were it not for carelessly taking three putts from kick-in distance on 16, is a moot point, and a question I would most certainly be too scared/wise to put to the big man’s face.

Before things get wild, let’s take this opportunity to tip the cap to young Nick Dunlap. The 21-year-old shot 90 on Thursday, and many a player would have responded by playing the illness or injury card to minimise embarrassment before withdrawing quietly. But Dunlap took his frustration out on a bucket of range balls, then came back yesterday to post a one-under round of 71. He still missed the cut in last place, of course, but if they were handing out Green Jackets for moxie, Dunlap would surely be at the head of the queue. The differential between his first two rounds is the second-biggest in Masters history, the biggest still Craig Wood’s 88-67 effort in 1936. Wood went on to win the Masters five years later, so if you’re a fan of outlandish omens, pile your cash on Dunlap winning this Tournament in 2030.