AUGUSTA – Zach Johnson had some choice words that appeared directed toward Masters patrons after carding a triple-bogey six at the par-3 No. 12 on Friday.
Johnson, who was sitting right on the cutline at 4-over at the time, hit his tee shot left and into the woods. He re-teed and went well right of the green. His ensuing chip rolled well past the hole. Two putts later came a tap-in for a six.
Johnson apparently did not take kindly to applause from the crowd, some distance away from the green. Cameras clearly picked up Johnson turning and yelling “(Expletive) off.” He then tossed his ball into Rae’s Creek guarding the green as walked off.
When asked about the incident following the round, Johnson said he didn’t hear the fans and claimed he was angry at himself.
“That I swore at the patrons? That’s laughable. That’s completely laughable. I can’t hear the patrons, number one. Number two, I just made a triple bogey on the 12th hole that evidently is going to make me miss the cut, which at the time I knew was pretty sensitive in the sense that I needed to keep making pars.
“If I’ve said anything, which I’m not going to deny, especially if it’s on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can’t hear anything behind me. Does that make sense?”
Johnson did end up missing the cut at 7-over, off by one shot.
Lamprecht misses cut
His first Masters is over, but Christo Lamprecht won’t forget it soon.
The Georgia Tech amateur finished at 8-over par in his debut after rounds of 74 and 78. Under very windy conditions, Lamprecht bogeyed three of the final four holes.
“Yeah, it was probably the toughest back nine of my life, honestly,” he said Friday. “I think it’s just so hard to putt out there. The greens are really firm and fast and glassy, and with this wind, it’s so hard to judge it.
“I think I played okay today. I just think my irons weren’t good enough. In this wind you’ve got to hit some really good iron shots. Then obviously one or two errant tee shots caused me to chip out.
“I’m not displeased, but I think I left some shots out there today, easy shots. I think that’s what differs right now from where I want to be to where I am, and I think if I just clean that up over the next couple months, when I turn pro I think I’ll be ready.”
DeChambeau moves signpost
The signpost was moveable, so Bryson DeChambeau moved it.
It was quite a scene on No. 13 Friday.
DeChambeau’s tee shot went well right up into the pine trees among the gallery. When he decided to punch out toward the No. 14 tee box, a post with directional signs for fans was in his way. So DeChambeau picked it up out of the ground to clear a path.
“I was trying to direct people,” DeChambeau joked. “Trying to get people to go to the restrooms.”
The strategy worked. DeChambeau punched a curving shot that landed near the 14th, 132 yards from the 13th green. He put his approach to 14 feet and made the putt for birdie. It dropped him to 8-under par at the time.
“The patrons were nice enough to move over to the side to make sure it was wide enough so if I hit one errant, nobody would get hit by the ball,” DeChambeau said of his decision. “I hit a great shot around the corner and was able to take advantage of a pretty open entrance to the green at that back right flag and made a nice birdie putt.”
Notable players to miss the cut
The cut was 6-over par. Those who won’t be around for the weekend include: Justin Rose (+7), Sergio Garcia (+7), Justin Thomas (+7), Viktor Hovland (+8), Jordan Spieth (+9), Brian Harman (+9), Bubba Watson (+10), Fred Couples (+12) and Dustin Johnson (+13).
Ratings up
ESPN reported that its live telecast of the first round of the Masters Thursday averaged 3.2 million viewers, the highest for the first round since 2015 and a jump of 28% in viewership over last year’s first round. The telecast aired from 3-8:06 p.m. and the audience peaked at 3.8 million in the 6:15 p.m. quarter hour.
Last year’s first round averaged 2.5 million viewers on ESPN.
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