Bubba Watson sole leader after second round 68 at the Masters
Bubba Watson caught fire on his second nine Friday. (Getty Images)While one lefty former champion was perhaps bowing out of the Masters, another was distancing himself from the field. Bubba Watson fired a second-round 68 to take the outright lead at the Masters headed into the weekend.
He tamed an Augusta National course that chewed up and spit out major champions such as the aforementioned Phil Mickelson, as well as Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner, Trevor Immelman, and Zach Johnson -- all of whom either spent Friday fighting to make the cut, or simply burying themselves on the leaderboard.
Watson's round started unspectacularly, as he was sitting at even par on the day at the turn. But he absolutely destroyed the second nine, rolling in five consecutive birdie putts en route to a 32.
The run started on the par 3 12th and continued through both the par 5 13th and 15th, with a three at No. 14 sandwiched between. It culminated spectacularly with a birdie at the par 3 16th after his tee shot rolled to within five feet.
Watson finished his round with a par at No. 17 followed by a disappointing bogey at the closing hole, entering the clubhouse three strokes clear of the field. And as impressive as the streak of birdies was, it wasn't the best Augusta had seen. The record for consecutive birdies at the Masters is seven, held by Tiger Woods and Steve Pate.
An interesting fact to contemplate with Bubba leading heading into Saturday's third round: Watson has won just once in eight tries when leading after 36 holes. If he's able to keep pace from his second nine Friday, he won't have much to worry about.
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