LIV Golf star’s Masters struggles laid bare after brutal missed cut at Augusta

Conditions in Friday’s second round at the Masters were brutal for those in action, one being Charl Schwartzel, who saw his tournament end early after missing the cut

Charl Schwartzel was one of a number of players beaten by the brutal Augusta National conditions in Friday’s second round at the Masters, after the 2011 champion missed the cut by five shots.

Schwartzel was one of 13 LIV Golf stars who reunited with their PGA Tour rivals in Georgia this week, with the intention no doubt to replicate the heroics that saw him with the green jacket 13 years ago. Like four other of his LIV colleagues though, it was not to be for the South African as his week ended early.

The Stinger GC star began the event with an opening two-over-par 74 on Thursday, but remained well in the mix, with scoring hard to come by at the iconic Augusta setup.

Things then got even worse for those in action on Friday, as brutal winds swirled around the Georgia course, with just one player in debutant Ludvig Aberg breaking 70. Schwartzel meanwhile ended his hopes of playing the weekend pretty quickly, after shooting a dismal nine-over 81.

The South African failed to make a single birdie in his second round, filling his scorecard with seven bogeys and one double bogey. In the aftermath a beaten Schwartzel gave an honest account as any as to just how tough the task at hand was out on the golf course on Friday.

“I don’t know if I’ve seen it like this. We had a few years where it’s blown, but this is as difficult as I’ve ever played it,” he said in the aftermath.” Asked to rank the difficulty of the golf course on a scale from one to ten, the former green jacket winner aptly responded with the No. 11.

The conditions were summed on day two by Tiger Woods, who for some time was forced to stand off his final putt at the 18th green, as the sand from the nearby bunker swirled all over him, loving the putting surface covered. Another fellow champion in Jose Maria Olazabal, who impressively made the cut at 58 years old, claimed it was as tough as he had seen in 35 trips to Augusta.