6:29 p.m.
Farewell, Gentle Ben.
Ben Crenshaw closed out his Masters career with two rounds he would prefer to forget, but a lifetime of memories from his 44 appearances at Augusta National.
Crenshaw, a two-time Masters champion, was greeted by his longtime caddie, Carl Jackson, when he came off the green for the final time after making another bogey at the 18th hole.
Jackson wasn't in good enough health to carry the clubs for 36 holes, so he turned over the duties to his younger brother Bud, a longtime caddie at Augusta National. But Carl donned the white coveralls, with Crenshaw's name on the back, and walked slowly on the green to hug the golfer after he tapped out for a 13-over 85.
The 63-year-old Crenshaw finished last in the field with a 176 — 32 over par.
Defending Master champion Bubba Watson, having just finished his round about a half-hour earlier, was among those who came out to watch Crenshaw close out his playing career. His wife, three daughters, and other family members were also there for the emotional scene.
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6:17 p.m.
Dustin Johnson earned his place in Masters lore by becoming the first player to make three eagles in one round.
Johnson scored eagles Friday on three of the par-5s: the second, eighth and 15th holes. He made a birdie on the other, the 13th, which left him with a 5-under 67 and still within reach of the leader, Jordan Spieth.
Johnson is seven strokes behind with a 7-under 137 at the halfway point.
"I feel good," Johnson said. "We've still got 36 holes of golf left. I'm playing really well. I'm making a lot of birdies. I need to limit the mistakes."
Those mistakes — most notably, a double-bogey 6 at the first hole, after a drive in the middle of the fairway — kept Johnson from posting an even lower score.
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5:38 p.m.
The Grand Slam club won't have to worry about making room for a new member.
Not this week, anyway.
Rory McIlroy arrived at Augusta National hoping to become only the sixth player in the modern era to win all four of golf's biggest events.
He was already in trouble after Day 1, shooting a 1-under 71 that left him seven shots off the lead. By the time McIlroy teed off Friday, he was facing a double-digit deficit to the leader, Jordan Spieth.
Playing like he knew he had no chance, McIlroy made three bogeys and a double-bogey on the way to a 4-over 40 on the front side. At that point, he was trailing Spieth by a staggering 17 strokes. His focus turned to playing well enough on the back side to at least make the cut and hang around for the weekend.
As for the career Grand Slam, that will have to wait until next year at Augusta.
With McIlroy's pursuit on hold, the Grand Slam focus turns back to Phil Mickelson. He, too, is missing only one title from his resume — the next one on the schedule, the U.S. Open in June.
For now, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen are the only players to win the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship. Bobby Jones captured a previous version of the Slam in 1930: U.S. Open, British Open, U.S. Amateur and British Amateur.
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5:21 p.m.
Tom Watson had hoped to set a Masters record by making the cut at age 65.
So much for that plan.
After opening with a promising 1-under 71, Watson ballooned to an 81 on Friday, one of the worst rounds of his long Augusta career. He finished up with a triple-bogey 7 at the final hole.
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1z3YTi9
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