Bridgestone has a TOUR B ball for every type of golfer, but there are key performance benefits common to every model.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Rory McIlroy has the career Grand Slam well within reach at the Masters.

Tough conditions at Augusta National could help keep him in the hunt.

McIlroy had an up-and-down start to the second round Friday, carding two birdies and three bogeys on the front nine while moving closer to the leaders. Matt Kuchar and six others were tied at 3 under when McIlroy made the turn one shot back.

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With firmer greens, tougher pin placements and just enough wind to make approach shots more challenging, it could be difficult for anyone to make a run up the leaderboard. That could be beneficial for McIlroy.

McIlroy was at his best early in the round. He made a sweeping 30-footer for birdie and the par-5 second. He nearly drove the green on the 350-yard third and then chipped to 4 feet and drained it for a birdie. He was at 4 under before giving back shots at Nos. 4 and 6, both par 3s.

He was over the green on the 240-yard fourth and then missed a 7-foote..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) Patrick Reed is leading a major championship for the first time, and his confidence is so high that he can only see what’s ahead of him.

Maybe that’s just as well at this Masters.

Reed started and finished the front nine with three straight birdies. He answered Marc Leishman’s bold shot for an eagle by polishing off another run of three straight birdies. It added to a 6-under 66 and a two-shot lead over Leishman going into the weekend at Augusta National.

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Right behind them are five major champions.

Nowhere near him are Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, the two names that generated so much of the buzz for a Masters that otherwise is living up to expectations.

None of it matters to Reed, who is going after his first major.

”Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them,” Reed said. ”I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play that I can win majors. … There’s..

The Masters has long been one of the greatest viewing spectacles in sports. How golf fans consume the tournament has evolved a tremendous amount over time, thanks in large part to live-streaming and AI technology. (Confession: Watching shot-tracer following Tiger's power-draw 3-wood into the fairway on the 10th tee on Thursday might've led me to shed a tear.)
These technological advances have enabled us to devour all-things Masters on more screens and multiple devices and forms of media. You might not be fortunate enough to ever score a ticket to the house that Jones and Mackenzie built, but thanks to Masters.com, CBS and ESPN, we now have a plethora of options to satisfy our Masters cravings, all from the comfort of our couches.
It has now become a work of art—and a point of pride among golf fans—to set up the perfect Masters-viewing theatre. We asked our followers on Instagram and Twitter to share an image of how they watch the Masters, and they did not disappoint. Have a l..

Jamie SquireOne of the most unlikely stories early during Masters Week has been Gary “GT” Nicklaus Jr. If you haven't seen the highlight yet, c'mon—you need to watch it. Jack Nicklaus' grandson, caddieing for his legendary, 18-time-major-winning grandfather, stepped up to the ninth hole during the Par 3 Contest, and promptly aced the hole. The 15-year-old had never had a hole-in-one before. Until then.
Jack's reaction was priceless, trending on every news site from CNN to People Magazine. What a moment. GT has kept his unbelievable week going, it appears, by being the subject of a full minute and a half rap by the freestyle musician Kelley James at a private party for aviation company Wheels Up on Thursday evening.
We know it's not James' best work—but the fact that Jack's grandson was up on the stage with Scott Van Pelt, being rapped about in front of the 1 percent of the 1-percenters of America in attendance at the Masters, is pretty unlikely. But t..

If you've never listened to the broadcast of a New York Mets game on SNY with Gary Cohen, Ron Darling and Keith Hernandez, you haven't lived, and this is coming from a Yankee fan. Not only are they funnier than just about any god-awful “Saturday Night Live” episode (not saying much), but they also know what they're talking about, and their chemistry as a trio is unmatched. While Darling and Cohen are great, the star, of course, is Hernandez.
The legendary first basemen boasts an incredible resume, including a share of the 1979 NL MVP, five All-Star games, a career .296 batting average, 11 gold gloves, two World Series rings and a guest appearance in one of the all-time great episodes of “Seinfeld”. Since 2006, he's been a broadcaster for the Mets on SNY, a team he spent seven of his final eight MLB seasons on and won one of his two World Series with. Last year, he also got an even bigger gig with FOX as a studio analyst. In other words, the guy can do it all, and no..

Dom FuroreThis is our Super Bowl. Let your non-golf friends judge away, but if you're like us, you'll be enjoying a couple of cold ones—maybe a bunch of cold ones—in celebrating the biggest week on every golfer's calendar.
RELATED: Masters 2018: Follow all the action on Thursday in our Masters live blog
A gathering with buddies, family … or maybe just your dog and a six-pack, to watch the unofficial start of spring, is a tradition unlike any other. There's nothing like a good Masters viewing party. But for anyone looking for an extra level of viewing as they watch the action at Augusta National, we've come up with a nice drinking game you can play. With others or by yourself. Like we said, there's no judging here.
Masters 2018 Drinking Game:
–Whenever Joe Ford, Masters Tournament Vice President, appears on the telecast to thank the tournament’s sponsors, yell: “Joe!” and drink for five seconds. (For any tried and true golf fan, you'll know the golf..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on Friday’s second round of the Masters (all times local):

7:55 p.m.

Patrick Reed is halfway home to his first major championship.

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Reed shot a 6-under 66 in the second round Friday, moving to 9 under for the tournament and giving him a two-shot lead over Marc Leishman heading into the third round. Reed and Leishman will be the final pairing Saturday, with the weather forecast calling for steady rain throughout the day. Both Reed and Leishman are seeking their first major title.

The 27-year-old Texan says ”I just kept myself out of trouble and let my putter do the work.”

Reed grabbed the lead thanks mostly to becoming the only player in the field to birdie all eight par 5s in the first two rounds. He also putted just 51 times through 36 holes.

Reed became the first to reach double digits under par this year – albeit it a brief stay. Reed made three consecutive birdies on the back nine before making a bogey at the par-3 16th..

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) The Latest on Friday’s second round of the Masters (all times local):

1:40 p.m.

On a day when the wind has picked up and scores are rising, Matt Kuchar is holding a share of the lead at the Masters.

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Seeking his first major title, Kuchar made the turn with a 1-over score in the second round to remain at 3 under for the day. He is tied with Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello, along with four other players who had late tee times: Henrik Stenson of Sweden, Canada’s Adam Hadwin and Americans Patrick Reed and Charley Hoffman.

First-round leader Jordan Spieth is struggling. He got off to a terrible start, making a double bogey at the first hole and a bogey at the second, before dropping another shot with a bogey at No. 7. He is now part of the group at 2 under, which also includes Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy.

Phil Mickelson was also in the mix until a triple-bogey 7 at the ninth dropped him to 1 over.

Tiger Woods..

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, break..