Second-round stress low for Marc Leishman at Masters

After the big leaderboards flatlined Friday, Marc Leishman came along after lunch and provided a jolt. His three straight birdies to open the second round were a rare productive getaway as most contenders stalled or staggered.

That quick start was the catalyst to what eventually became a 5-under 67, following a first-day 70, that has Leishman at 7-under through 36 holes and two shots behind leader Patrick Reed, who matched Leishman’s three-birdie start.

“Early in the day, I was looking at the scores. Guys were struggling,” Leishman said. “I thought, someone is going to shoot a good score, why not me?

“It was a fairly stress-free round,” he added. “For the most part, I was hitting it into good spots. It’s the type of round you need around here, because you need your energy at the end of the week.”

Leishman strung together nine pars after that quick start before another birdie on the  par-5 13th, which preceded his lone Friday blemish, at the par-4 14th. He followed that bogey, however, with his day’s highlight: a perfectly shaped second shot around the pines on the par-5 15th that left him just 5 feet for eagle.

PHOTOS: Leishman's Friday Round

“Perfectly” shaped, but not exactly a purposefully shaped 5-iron from 210 yards. Leishman admitted later that he intended the shot to land closer to the right side of the wide green, but he gladly took advantage of the additional hook that left him such a short look at eagle.

And the idea of laying up for a third-shot pitch across the pond was quickly dismissed.

“There’s a lot of trouble up there. If you lay up, it’s a really, really hard shot to that pin,” he said. “I was trying to get that to the right side of the green. It obviously ended up in a pretty good spot.”

Perhaps looking ahead a couple of days also played into Leishman’s decision to rope-hook that 5-iron around the trees.

“Yes, I considered other options,” he said. “But to win this tournament, you’re going to have to take a chance at some point.”

Leishman followed that eagle with three pars.

The 34-year-old Aussie has been here before. He was second through 36 holes in the 2013 Masters, a shot behind Jason Day. He eventually finished fourth, his best Masters finish in five tries. His best-ever finish in a major championship came at the 2015 British Open, when he and Louis Oosthuizen lost in a playoff to Zach Johnson at St. Andrews.

PHOTOS: Second round at the Masters Tournament

Leishman played this week's first 36 holes alongside Tommy Fleetwood and this year’s headliner, Tiger Woods. The massive gallery and the accompanying energy, Leishman suggests, might’ve been good preparation for the weekend.

“If you’re going to win this tournament, you’re gonna play in front of some really big crowds,” he said. “I really looked at it as preparation for later in the week. I like playing in front of big crowds. On the biggest stages as well.”