Which big name will charge on the rankings Friday at Augusta National? Our Golf.com staff choose them.
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Every Sunday evening, please register to golf’s travel secrets to get an unfiltered opinion from our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport. This week, in the Augusta Nationals Masters situation, we have a key topic every night.
Justin Rose (under 7) leads the Masters, but several of the most prominent figures in the game will need a strong round on Friday to keep up. The headlines of Rory McIlroy and Collin Morikawa ended with the group of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele. Which election player charges rankings on Friday?
Zephyr Melton, Assistant Editor (@zephyrmelton): I’ll go with Xander Schauffele. He surpassed three games with 11 points, but returned to more than 73 games. These dirty rounds are what separate the best from the others. I hope he comes back and posts something on Fridays of the 60s to hunt himself.
Jack Hirsh, Associate Device Editor (@jr_hirshey): Ludvig Aberg shot 32 shots 68 on the back nine. We forgot the last guy who finished second in his Masters won his second attempt (Spieth). I said he was in the lead on the weekend, and Scheftler followed closely behind.
Josh Sens, Senior Writer (@Joshsens): Collin Morikawa played a quiet round today and ended with a bogey. But he still finishes with PAR, which reminds him how tall the bar is this year. He ended last year. There is no reason to think that when we move to the weekend, he won’t be in trouble.
Josh Schrock, Associate News Editor (@schrock_and_awe): I would say Rory, but the last four holes on Thursday were so frustrated that I couldn’t do it. The wind completely got rid of my sail. I’m going with Justin Thomas. JT did a great job of crawling 73 matches in Augusta National in one day. We know he can get nuclear heat and I think the closing birdie on Thursday will push him into Friday’s surge. Don’t be surprised if a future Viktor Hovland takes action and is in one of the last pairings on Saturday.
Jessica Marksbury, Senior Editor (@jess_marksbury): I feel inspired by Bryson DeChambeau! It’s always hard to gauge how LIV players perform in their first major this year, but Bryson seems to be catching the ball where he left last year.
Alan Bastable, executive editing (@alan_bastable): Patrick Reed shot a man despite trying to throw his misconductive push rod into Thunder’s creek. If he can sort his flat fixation, be careful!
