Ludvig Åberg woke up as shared second on Friday in the US Masters, but didn't quite have the same sharpness when the game continued at Augusta National.
Still, he was heading for a decent round after putting in a birdie from a position outside the green on hole 16. Then he was one under par for the day.
But then bogeys on holes 17 and 18 pulled down the overall score. Åberg came in at 73 strokes (one over par) and lies a total of three under going into the weekend's play.
He shares 12th place, five strokes behind the leading Englishman Justin Rose.
Everything was just a bit worse than yesterday. I didn't get close enough to the flag and didn't make as many putts as yesterday, so it got a bit bumpy. But I think I still held it together pretty well, says the 25-year-old Swede.
It's tricky, the wind is swirling and I think I'm hitting okay shots.
When Åberg became second in his major debut at Augusta last year, he was seventh halfway through the competition and had four strokes up to a leading trio. Now the situation is somewhat worse, but not impossible, with 36 holes left to play.
One who moved in the opposite direction in the result list on Friday was Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman, chasing an long-awaited first Masters victory, recovered after Thursday's tough finish and delivered a cannon round.
McIlroy went on 66 strokes and lies shared third on –6.
It looked like it was very easy for him today, says Åberg.
Justin Rose gets to go in the lead ball with Bryson DeChambeau, one stroke behind.
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Justin Rose, England, –8.
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Bryson DeChambeau, USA, –7.
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Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland, and Corey Conners, Canada, –6.
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among others Ludvig Åberg, –3.
