Centurion - South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel turned back the clock as he shot a three-under 69 in the second round of The Masters, at Augusta, on Friday.
Schwartzel was three-under overall, and in a tie for second. Leading the way was American world number one Scottie Scheffler on eight-under.
Teeing off in the morning, Schwartzel held the lead, or was around the top, for most of the day until Scheffler caught fire on the back nine with four birdies which helped him to his five-under 67.
Schwartzel’s impressive round included just two bogeys and five bogeys. The 2011 Masters champion has missed his last six cuts in a row coming into the tournament, and was not expected to contend.
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The 37-year-old Schwartzel, however, said his results didn’t reflect how he felt about his game returning to the tournament-defining venue of his career 11 years ago.
“The bad results didn't really determine how I felt coming in here,” said Schwartzel.
“I actually took two weeks off, and as the two weeks went by, my confidence grew in belief that I could win this tournament because I was starting to hit it very good and just looked at old footage of winning here [of the 2011 Masters], and it’s [the ability] still there.”
The last time Schwartzel was in contention, was at the 3M Open on the PGA Tour in July last year when he finished in a tie for second - two shots behind eventual winner Cameron Champ. With scoring difficult at Augusta in round two with high winds affecting the players, Schwartzel said it helped him focus.
All smiles on No. 16 as 2011 champion Charl Schwartzel moves to three under par. #themasters pic.twitter.com/D549z3Bac9
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2022
“Well, I think that was one of the challenges. I think that's where I've been going wrong. My mind is too active, and I really worked hard in staying in the present and just trying to execute a golf shot and not to worry about what can go wrong - because I've been playing too much golf thinking of what can go wrong.”
The only other SA player to make the cut was Christiaan Bezuidenhout as he carded a one-under 71 to move to level par at the halfway stage in a tie for 16th.
Erik van Rooyen (73 79) on eight-over and Garrick Higgo (72 83) on 11-over both battled as they missed the cut.
Louis Oosthuizen, meanwhile, opened with a four-over 76 but withdrew before the start of the second round with an undisclosed injury. The top-ranked SA player in the field, however, was seen clutching his back early in round one.