Former US Open champion Wyndham Clark made a rapid start on the second day of the Masters, carding three birdies in his first four holes to move within two shots of overnight leaders Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns.
The 32-year-old American, who won his only major at Los Angeles Country Club in 2023, began the day at level par. He chipped his third shot to four feet at the par-five second to open his account, then holed a 22-foot birdie putt at the third and knocked his tee shot at the short fourth to within eight feet for another birdie.
Clark, whose best finish at Augusta is a tie for 46th and who has only one other top-10 in 16 majors, took advantage of the softer early-morning conditions. His strong start offered hope to other morning starters, including former champions Jon Rahm at six over, Jordan Spieth at level par, and world number one Scottie Scheffler at two under, all due out before 10.30am local time.
Also among the early group was Justin Rose, last year's runner-up, on two under, and Bob MacIntyre, looking to recover from a first-round 80 that included a quadruple-bogey nine at the par-five 15th.
McIlroy was in the penultimate group at 1.44pm local time, but afternoon conditions were expected to be more challenging, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees Celsius and the threat of scattered showers and thunderstorms.
