Severe storms disrupted the second round of The Masters Friday, but the gallery at Augusta National had been thunderstruck earlier in the day by Texas A&M senior Sam Bennett.
With his second straight 4-under 68, Bennett was in sole possession of second place for several hours at -8 for the tournament. Spain's Jon Rahm has since moved to -9 through 9 holes, and both trail Brooks Kepka at -12.
Still, Bennett's first 36 holes at The Masters have been historic. The reigning U.S. Amateur champion is the first amateur to hold second place by himself in 65 years; he's also only the third amateur ever to be in second alone during the tournament.
His -8 is also the second-best 36-hole performance by an amateur in Masters history. Only Ken Venturi, who shot -9 in his first two rounds in 1956, was better. His bogey-free round Thursday was the first by an amateur since Billy Joe Patton in 1965, and he's the third amateur in tournament history with multiple rounds in the 60s in a single Masters.
Bennett, who parred the last 12 holes Thursday, started off Friday with a birdie before finally losing a stroke on the 4th hole, when he finished the Par 3 in 4 strokes. Undeterred, he birdied the 8th and 9th holes before the turn, then birdied 13 and 14. He parred the final four holes to finish with his second consecutive 68.
Before leaving for Augusta, Bennett told members of the Texas A&M press corps he was going with the intention of winning the tournament -- something that seemed a lot more improbable than it does now. When asked by the national media what his objectives were Friday, he was a little more modest.
"I just wanted to put two good rounds up. I knew my golf was good enough to compete out here. I found myself in a situation that now I've got a golf tournament that I can go out and win," he said.
His golf has been plenty good enough so far. While the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are far back in the back and Rory McElroy failed to make the cut, Bennett has a very real chance to be in the final group Saturday (depending on how players on the course complete their rounds).
Next week, he'll be back in Maroon & White, competing for the Aggies. This weekend, though, he's got green in mind.
"I'm not worried about school right now," he said. "There's a green jacket to win."
