“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 5-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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