Masters 2020: Bryson DeChambeau makes cut, Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas among leaders

-9 J Thomas (US), D Johnson (US), A Ancer ( Mex), C Smith (Aus), J Rahm (Spa); -8 P Cantlay (US), S Im (Kor), H Matsuyama (Jpn), P Reed (US) Selected others: -7 T Fleetwood (Eng), D Willett (Eng), J Rose (Eng); -5 T Woods (US), P. Casey (Eng), P. Mickelson (US), B Koepka (US); -3 R McIlroy (NI), B Langer (Dld); Level B DeChambeau 12 * (US) Location: Augusta National Date: November 12-15 Cover: Radio and text commentary online with in-play clips. Daily Highlights on BBC Two – full details here

Bryson DeChambeau has crammed into the cut-line as the top three players in the world are tied in five directions for the Masters lead after an intriguing two-round opening.

The Pre-Tournament Favorite faced an anxious wait after a bogey at age 18 left him par through 36 holes.

Jon Rahm returned to complete his round and moved to the lead with nine under.

Worldwide number one Dustin Johnson, number three Justin Thomas, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith are also nine below.

It means that the top three players in the world are tied for the lead for the first time in major history after two rounds.

] Half of the field returned to complete their second round on Saturday morning in Augusta as the tournament continues now to catch up after electrical storms on opening day .

Rahm was one of them who birdie on the 13th to get to the top of the leaderboard and off the green at 15 to save par and go there. stay while he was carding a bogey-free six-under-par 66.

Friday's favorable conditions got the early starters low scores, with Tommy Fleetwood and 2016 champion Danny Willett hitting 66s to get down to seven with Justin Rose (70).

Fellow Englishman Paul Casey shared the lead earlier in the week, but lost ground after finishing his second round on Saturday with a double bogey on the 18th to slide down to five under.

Defending champion Tiger Woods climbed to five under par, four strokes from the lead, after a birdie at 15 saw him complete his round in 71, adding to his opening with 68.

Japa n & # 39; s Hideki Matsuyama and 2018 Champion Patrick Reed are both among the best, as they finished on Saturday morning at eight under par.

Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland shot a 66 on Friday as he climbed to three under.

Irregular DeChambeau Makes Barely Cut

Despite Woods returning with the Green Jacket, much of the pre-Masters hype revolved around US Open champion DeChambeau and or he could overpower Augusta.

The American opened with a two-under-70, but was one over at the end of the game on Friday, when four birdies were offset by four bogeys and a triple-bogey seven on the third after losing his ball.

It appeared that the world's number six resumed his round on his return on Saturday with consecutive birdies on 13 and 14 and making another on 16 to move to two under par.

But DeChambeau then seemed to fall apart when he hit a ride in the trees at the age of 17, crossed the green with his second and was unable to and go down.

Despite finding the fairway, another bogey followed on 18 as he flew over the green again with his approach, eventually signing for a two-over-par 74.

That left DeChambeau on level par and, with 50 players plus a tie making the last two rounds, right on the cut line while he waited for the rest of the field to be completed.

That stayed that way when the last players closed their second round, giving the American a brief turnaround before moving on to his third round.

Before the tournament, DeChambeau boldly claimed that he thought the par-72 course was a par 67 for him because of the amazing distance at which he hits the ball.

That led three-time Masters runner-up Greg Norman says on BBC Radio Five Live Sports Additional comment: “I think Bryson was the deathblow when he said Augusta had a par 67 for him.

"If you go out there and say that verbally, the golf gods will hear it in the pine trees near Augusta."

DJ sets Friday pace Augusta

Johnson missed two tournaments leading up to Augusta after testing positive for Covid-19, but returned last week to take second place in Houston.

In search of his first Green Jacket, the 36-year-old has taken his form to the Masters, where he completed his opening 65 on Friday morning before carding 70 later in the day.

He had threatened to retire when after four holes with d rie on 10 under led, but successive bogeys slowed his progress.

The American, however, ended up birdie at 18 to reclaim some of the top spot.

The 44 players who didn't complete the first round on Thursday, due to delays caused by an electrical storm, quickly turned around before starting their second.

Momentum was with Johnson, who had joined Casey as the first round leader, when he rolled in three consecutive birdies through Amen Corner, only to bogey the 14th and get one more hit. dropped after finding the water on the par-5 15th.

"I felt like I was playing really well, hit a lot of good shots and watched a lot of birds, but couldn't quite put it in the hole," said Johnson, whose only big victory so far is the 2016 US Open.

Several challengers from Johnson & # 39; s early lead came and went before the Mexican Ancer and the Australian Smith made their move.

Thomas was one of those who shared first place earlier in the day after hitting the turn with four consecutive birdies.

The world's number three fell away with a double bogey in the beginning after dragging down a driveway in the pines and then against a tree trunk, but produced a strong recovery.

Ancer & # 39; s best finish in a major equals 16th at last year's US PGA Championship, but he posted six birdies after an opening bogey for his first Masters appearance to lead.

Smith, who finished fifth in Augusta in 2018, produced a rollercoaster round of 68 including six birdies, an eagle and four bogeys.

English trio in battle

Willett produced the best moment of his career when he won the Masters four years ago, his only major, but has not made it in the three tournaments.

However, the 33-year-old will be in the mix this weekend, after he hit Friday's joint lowest round of 66 that seemed unattainable when he started on the 10th with a double bogey. [1 9459004]

"It's still unreal, still a great place to come to. An incredibly special place," said Willett, who responded with an eagle at 13 and six birdies to move within two shots of the lead.

Countryman Fleetwood is still on the hunt for his first big title, and got off to a bad start when he bogeyed the first too, but he recovered with three consecutive birdies and seven in total and joined Willett on seven under par.

Rose, looking to go one better than his second place in 2015 and 2017 , completed his opening round with a scrambling 67 and added a 70 later in the day with five birdies and three bogeys.

"I felt like I was playing well enough to tournament – I know I can win, I just don't have an arm in e yet and jacket, ”said the 40-year-old.

"I played in that last group a few times and really enjoyed it."

Casey had one bogey and 10 pars in the 11 holes he completed on Friday and sunk a birdie putt on 13 on his return.

But he found the trees to the left of the 18th tee and was unable to escape with his second shot and eventually carded a double bogey to drop to five below.

McIlroy gave a pep talk

Co-leader Johnson was in a group with McIlroy, who endured a scorching last nine when he completed his first round, but recovered with a impressive bogey-free 66 that included six birdies.

McIlroy & # 39; s opening 75 was his worst in 12 Masters appearances and the world's number five revealed he had a chat with friend and Augusta National in between rounds. member Jimmy Dunne.

"Jimmy gave me a pep talk between rounds. To the range," he said. "I'm really playing that well coming in here, and then I'm going into the first round and I shoot 75, and I'm like, & # 39; where's that coming from? & # 39;

] "I knew it was in there, it was just a matter of a little more trust and commitment.

" Hopefully I I put my eye in the last 18 holes and I need a few days on the weekend to give myself a shot. "

South Korean prospect Sungjae Im also briefly shared the lead with Johnson and leaves at eight.

At age 63 two-time champion Bernhard Langer will become the oldest player to make the cut at a Masters in third place.