Golf pro Sepp Straka made the cut at the Masters in Augusta on Friday, but lost a much better starting position at the end of the second round. The 29-year-old Viennese ended his round of 73 with three bogeys (losses) in a row. In the classification, Straka initially ranked 29th with one under par. He was eleven strokes short of the leading American Brooks Koepka.
As on Thursday, where he had played a strong round of 70 at the end, Straka started with a failed tee shot. But this time he was able to avoid an early bogey. The Viennese then managed to win a stroke on the second hole, as he did later on on the eighth hole. However, he also lost two strokes in the first nine, putting his score back where it started before the turn.
Straka opened the second part with a bogey, on fairways 12 to 16 he had his best part of the day with three birdies. In the finish, however, mistakes crept into the game of the Viennese, who studied only 150 km from Augusta. Straka can no longer be pushed out of the top 50, who traditionally make the cut at the first major tournament of the year in Georgia. Last year, he finished tied for 30th place in his Masters debut.
Leader Koepka initially defended the top position of the previous day (twelve under par) with an eagle on hole eight and three further birdies. The Norwegian Viktor Hovland and the Spaniard Jon Rahm, who shared the lead with Koepka after round one, were only in action in the afternoon (local time), as was Tiger Woods, who was worried about the cut.