“This is Brooks as good as we’ve ever seen him. He has an imperturbability in majors.” – Brandel Chamblee on Brooks Koepka (-12, Leader)
“This weekend is going to be more about the misses. It’s going to be a scrambling weekend. This golf course is going to radically change.” – Paul McGinley
“He’s got the worse end of the draw. It’s going to be a real difficult conclusion to his round and it’s going to require a lot of patience.” – Chamblee on Jon Rahm (-9, 2nd)
“Have we ever been closer to an amateur winning one of these championships?” – McGinley on amateur Sam Bennett (-8, 3rd)
Ryan Lavner’s Feature on Sam Bennett
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 7, 2023 – GOLF Central Live From The Masters continued its comprehensive coverage surrounding the 2023 Masters with post-round reaction and analysis on GOLF Channel and Peacock following second round play on Friday.
Play was suspended Friday afternoon due to inclement weather. Play is scheduled to resume Saturday morning at 8 a.m. ET.
Saturday’s Live From The Masters coverage on GOLF Channel and Peacock will begin following the conclusion of the second round, and primetime coverage will air on GOLF Channel and Peacock immediately following Saturday’s conclusion of play.
The Masters – Second Round Leaderboard
| Player | Total |
| Brooks Koepka | -12 |
| Jon Rahm* | -9 |
| Sam Bennett (a) | -8 |
| Collin Morikawa | -6 |
| Viktor Hovland* | -6 |
*second round in progress
On Advantage of Late/Early Wave
Brandel Chamblee: “When there’s weather that comes in this suddenly, this quickly. Think how nice the weather was for the guys who played early today and late yesterday. Heard a number of players who said they haven’t seen Augusta National this quiet, this soft…if they go out tomorrow, it’s going to be wet, there are going to be mud balls, they won’t be able to clean it…if Jon Rahm goes back out tomorrow and plays a course that is wet, soggy and muddy, it’s going to be very hard for him to cut into that three-shot deficit.”
On Weather
Paul McGinley: “This weekend is going to be more about the misses. It’s going to be a scrambling weekend…We’re going to have forties (temperature) in the morning. This is a golf course that’s going to radically change.”
On Brooks Koepka (-12, Leader)
Chamblee: “He hit so many shots in the last 36 holes that were spot-on…this is Brooks as good as we’ve ever seen him. He’s got it all. Plenty of power, plenty of precision…nobody can touch him…he has an imperturbability in major championships.”
On Jon Rahm (-9, 2nd through nine holes)
McGinley: “Absolute class. He looks absolutely focused. I’m so impressed with his shot making…I love to watch how comfortably he’s moving it right to left. It all looks in place.”
Chamblee: “He’s got the worse end of the draw. It’s going to be a real difficult conclusion to his round and it’s going to require a lot of patience. I feel like Jon Rahm plays his best golf when he’s chasing and Brooks Koepka plays his best when he’s leading. That’s the ultimate scenario…you couldn’t dream up two more macho guys to go mano a mano and throw haymakers out there.”
On Sam Bennett (-8, 3rd)
Chamblee on Sam Bennett: “You think of all the great amateurs that have played in the Masters. Johnny Miller, Curtis Strange, Ben Crenshaw, Hal Sutton, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods…Nobody’s done better than 13th place since then, and here we are, with Sam Bennett. A tremendous story.”
McGinley on Bennett and the current state of amateurs in golf: “What a Cinderella story…Have we ever been closer to an amateur winning one of these championships? Maybe we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”
Earlier this week, Live From aired Ryan Lavner’s feature piece on Sam Bennett and how the 2022 U.S. Amateur Champion overcame both the loss of his father to early onset Alzheimer’s and struggles with mental health.
--NBC SPORTS--
