Sam Bennett continues strong start at Masters as he’s alone in second place after 2nd round

Sam Bennett was undaunted by the pressure at Augusta National, and continued his special experience at the Masters with another strong round on Friday.

The Texas A&M amateur, who on Thursday finished with the lowest first 9 holes for an amateur in Masters history also didn’t record a bogey during the memorable opening round when he started the tournament birdie-eagle. Bennett fired a first-round 68 on Thursday and began Friday with 5 birdies and a bogey.

After Friday’s round, Bennett was 4 strokes behind leader Brooks Koepka entering Saturday’s round. He did it thanks to back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes to move into second place at 8 under through 32 holes. The last time an amateur was in solo second place after 2 rounds at the Masters was 1958.

He was heard on fairway audio after his second shot on No. 18 that it was the “worst shot of the week,” but the ball ended up flag high about 25 feet away from the hole.

Sam Bennett is now in second place. Only two other amateurs have reached this level at some point during a Masters Tournament. #themasters pic.twitter.com/8vqsRj8RGY

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2023

Back-to-back birdies and a move to solo second for amateur Sam Bennett. #themasters pic.twitter.com/W75Ip9BhaP

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 7, 2023

Keith Farner

A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.