Garcia joins Hoffman at Masters summit

We can talk for hours on end before the event about players and their form, but it’s impossible to predict who is going to have a good week and who will struggle.

Entering the day on level par, McIlroy picked up three birdies, three bogeys and three pars on the opening nine.

If he could pull it off, Mickelson would be seven months older than Jack Nicklaus when the Golden Bear won his magical 18th and final major at the 1986 Masters, setting the benchmark for oldest green jacket victor.

But on his back nine he produced some excellent golf, rolling in birdies on the 13th, 15th and 16th on his way in as he searches for the final Major that would give him the Grand Slam.

“That would be the best thing that could happen to me”, Garcia said.

Now, after sitting out a year ago because of a chronic back issue, he’s back in that familiar spot again – just three shots off the lead after posting a 2-under-par score, even as another dose of swirling winds made life miserable for a bunch of younger players.

“I got a couple nice breaks”, Garcia said. “The most important thing is I knew where I stood”.

“I have been worked on all morning and obviously I can take some swings, but I can’t swing full, I can’t make my normal swing and I didn’t think there was any chance I could compete”.

William McGirt, who started the day alone in second place and four shots behind Hoffman, offset two bogeys with a pair of birdies before dropping another shot at the 18th to slip to two under.

“It (my start) was big”, the 28-year-old told reporters.

Meanwhile world number one Dustin Johnson withdrew from the Masters minutes before he was scheduled to tee off.

After a bogey-free 71 Thursday, Garcia began round two with three birdies, a Masters first for him, before a bogey at the par-3 fourth, a birdie to close the front nine and birdies at 15 and 17 to offset two early back-nine bogeys.

Couples, the 1992 Masters victor, could become the oldest major victor in history at age 57 if his balky back can last 72 holes.

“Obviously, a lot more hard (Friday)”. “Nothing says I’m going to play bad or I should play bad”.

“I thought it was flawless”, he said of his approach shot. “I’ve been hitting the ball very solid”. He had six birdies and three bogeys for a 69.

“I was not upset to see it blowing”. Garcia has never seriously contended in the Masters, however, so while this is 19th appearance at Augusta, being part of a 36-hole lead is new territory.

Westwood, whose most recent win came at the 2015 Indonesian Masters, said he kept his composure after his poor start. He had gotten himself going with an eagle on 2 and a birdie on 3, and slowly closed on Hoffman, who had five bogeys in a six-hole stretch before he straightened himself out.

“Just put yourself in position, you try not to shoot too high over the first two days, ” McIlroy said.

T19. Rickie Fowler, Fred Couples, Justin Thomas, Danny Willett and four others (+1): How about Couples dropping a 73 to finish in the top-20 here in 2017?