The Masters 2024 LIVE: Leaderboard and latest updates as Scheffler level with DeChambeau after Woods sets record

“Really tough day,” the Northern Irishman reflected after his round. “Just hard to make a score and just sort of trying to make as many pars as possible. I felt like I did okay. I made that bogey on 14, and even just to par the last four holes and get in the clubhouse and have a tee time tomorrow, I’m sort of pretty happy with. Scoring was very difficult.

“I mean, most of the field couldn’t really get anything going. It was just a matter of trying to hang in there as best you could.”

On the length of his round: “It felt long, yeah. My golf swing felt horrific for the last six or seven holes, just from hitting around. Especially that 11th hole. On 11 it felt like it took an hour to play that hole. Yeah, it was stop and start, hard to get into a rhythm with the conditions and obviously how slow the play was as well.”

Jack Nicklaus criticised Rory McIlroy for a lack of concentration as the 88th Masters belatedly got under way at Augusta National.

Overnight rain and the threat of thunderstorms saw the start of play pushed back from 8am to 1030am, with honorary starters Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson kicking off proceedings 20 minutes earlier by hitting tee shots on the first before retiring to the clubhouse.

The trio then gave a lengthy press conference before Nicklaus joined “Live from the Masters” on the Golf Channel and discussed why McIlroy had yet to win a green jacket to complete a career grand slam.

Scottie Scheffler shares a lead of The Masters at the halfway stage, but with his wife Meredith only weeks away from giving birth to their first child, has left a clear message that he’ll depart at a moment’s notice if necessary.

It may not come together this week but Sir Nick Faldo believes Rory McIlroy has at least another decade of opportunities to win the Masters, despite the scar tissue from his previous attempts.

McIlroy famously squandered a four-shot lead in the final round in 2011 and has recorded six top 10s at Augusta National since victory in the 2014 Open left him needing a green jacket to complete a career grand slam.

The world number two finished second behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022 thanks to a thrilling final round of 64 and is second favourite behind the same player this week after finishing third in the Texas Open on Sunday.

Rahm said: “It is a very difficult set-up. It would have been very difficult anyway without the win but that just adds a whole level to it. You have to play really good golf on get lucky with the gusts.

“It was a bad day for me not to have it. I was fighting my swing all day. But at the end of the day, I have made the cut and have two rounds to make up 12 shots. I feel it has been done before – if the conditions aren’t too easy tomorrow, maybe I can make a push for the win.”

Here are some selected Masters tee times for round three:

(All times BST – golfers USA unless stated)

First group – 1435: Rickie Fowler, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)

1525: Jon Rahm (Esp), Grayson Murray

1555: Camilo Villegas (Col), Rory McIlroy (Nir)

1625: Phil Mickelson, Sahith Theegala

1735: Brooks Koepka, Taylor Moore

1745: Tiger Woods, Tyrrell Hatton (Eng)

1755: Xander Schauffele, Eric Cole

1815: Sepp Straka (Aut), Matt Fitzpatrick (Eng)

1855: Danny Willett (Eng), Ryan Fox (Nzl)

1905: Cameron Young, Tommy Fleetwood (Eng)

1915: Ludvig Åberg (Swe), Matthieu Pavon (Fra)

1925: Cameron Davis (Aus), Collin Morikawa

1935: Scottie Scheffler, Nicolai Hojgaard (Den)

Final group – 1945: Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau

Scottie Scheffler gives his thoughts on his Friday performance

Ever since Bryson DeChambeau first made his mark in the world of golf, the “mad scientist” has always done things in his own unique way. Whether through his meticulous studies of golfing theory and an obsessive desire to break down the mechanisms of the perfect swing, or his unparalleled commitment to “bulking season” and an unprecedented physical transformation that added even more power to his monstrous drive, the Californian has left no stone unturned in his relentless pursuit of perfection across 18 holes.

His best-ever start to the Masters, taking a one-shot lead at 7-under-par into the second round Friday, was perhaps the clearest sign yet that DeChambeau is about to reap the benefits of his tireless work. DeChambeau is already a major champion, romping to a dominant six-shot victory at the 2020 US Open at Winged Foot, but the 30-year-old showed a different side to his game as he put the finishing touches on an opening round of 65. Can DeChambeau conquer Augusta National, and tame the danger that lurks behind the tranquillity of Amen Corner?

But it takes more than a powerful drive to become a Masters champion, and DeChambeau has learned that the hard way.

Golf legend Bernhard Langer has confirmed he now expects to play the Masters for the final time in 2025 after the two-time champion’s original plan for a swansong this week was cruelly dashed after he suffered a torn Achilles in February.

The 66-year-old German picked up the injury playing pickleball and has been forced to miss significant time, sparking a change in plans regarding how he will say goodbye to Augusta National.

“Most likely, but I haven’t announced it yet,” Langer said when asked by Reuters if the 2025 edition would be his final Masters start. “I hope so, but it all depends how the recovery is going.”