Scottie Scheffler had gone 11 straight rounds at Augusta finishing at par or better.
That streak snapped on Friday when Scheffler shot 2-over 74, his first over-par score at the Masters since a 75 in the second round in 2023.
He sits T-22 on the leaderboard with less than half of the field still on the course at 5 p.m. local time
Scheffler bogeyed a pair of second nine par 5s (Nos. 13 and 15), where he found water on both with his second shots. That sent him tumbling down the leaderboard after opening in 70.
“It’s a hard shot for me,” Scheffler explain about the 13th, “because where I hit my drive there, we caught that tee ball into the wind again, so as far as I can get it out there, there’s still some trees in my way, so I kind of have to start on that bridge, but off the slope I felt like I could pretty easily draw it off.
“I just tried to kind of swing it with the slope and just didn’t catch it that solid and kind of hung out there.”
Scheffler said he felt he played better Friday than his score indicated, and was proud that he fought through a few ups and downs early during his first nine. Most notably was a pair of back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 4 and 5.
Scottie Scheffler birdies Camellia to climb into the top 10. #themasters pic.twitter.com/DPi6WB7g6N
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2026
“The fairway on 13, probably my only shot I would rather be able to hit again,” bemoaned Scheffler, who used a 3-iron. “Maybe a different decision there. That’s a tough shot, but I felt like I could make something happen to that pin.”
“That’s a shot that I could get in there close, so I felt like it was worth the risk of going for it,” he added. “It was unfortunate too where the ball crossed. If it would have crossed a little further back, it would have been a much easier pitch for me to be able to get up and down, but I had to go all the way to the drop zone just because there wasn’t enough room for me to stop where I had to drop my ball.”
On the 15th hole, Scheffler’s second shot ran through the green and into the water fronting the 16th hole.
The world’s No. 1-ranked player remained confident in his ability to compete over the final 36 holes, despite entering the weekend seven or so shots off the lead.
“Poor swing on 13 and then a few breaks that didn’t go my way,” he said recapping his round. “The margins are small here.”