AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on Friday’s second round of the Masters (all times local):
9:30 a.m.
Li Haotong has begun his second round at the Masters.
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The 22-year-old from China opened the day three shots off the lead after finishing with a 69 on the first day of the tournament. For close to an hour, his name was atop those white leaderboards around Augusta National with Tony Finau until Jordan Spieth took over.
Li qualified for the Masters by closing with a 63 at Royal Birkdale in the British Open last summer. Earlier this year, he rallied to beat Rory McIlroy in a duel at the Dubai Desert Classic that allowed him to crack the top 50 in the world for the first time.
Li entered the week at No. 42 in the world.
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3 a.m.
Rory McIlroy wanted to get off to a solid start at the Masters, his latest shot at a career Grand Slam.
Saving par on the final three holes in the opening round Thursday helped him keep it in sight.
McIlroy shot a 3-under 69, breaking 70 in the first round at Augusta National for the first time since 2011. He shot a 65 that year and looked like he would win a green jacket before a final-round meltdown.
McIlroy heads into the second round Friday three shots behind Jordan Spieth, who made five consecutive birdies on the back nine to build a two-stroke lead over Tony Finau and Matt Kuchar.
”You look at it and not anyone is really getting away,” McIlroy said. ”Jordan had a pretty strong finish there. But this is my best start in a few years. And, yeah, it’s such a hard golf course to play catch-up on. If you start to chase it around here, that’s when you start to make mistakes.
”But to be right up there and have the ability to stay patient because of the position I’m in, that’s a nice luxury I have over the next few days.”
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