Tiger Woods recovers from nightmare start to halfway to Masters as new world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler takes top spot

Tiger Woods called on a great spirit to overturn a dismal start on day two of the Masters to make the cut halfway and keep his place at Augusta.

Meanwhile, fellow American Scottie Scheffler has explained why he was ranked number one in the world by taking a decisive lead.

Just 14 months after a car accident that authorities admitted he was lucky to survive, Woods returned to Augusta National on Thursday.

The legendary golfer had carded an opening 71 in his last remarkable return from injury.

The 15-time Major then got off to a nightmarish start on Friday as he bogged four of his first five holes before seemingly leveling the ship with a birdie on the eighth.

A stunning tenth approach set up another birdie and, although it was followed by lost shots on 11 and 12, birdies on 13 and 14 eventually saw Woods sign for a 74 to maintain his stunning record of not never miss a Masters cut like a professional.

“It was windy, swirling everywhere,” Woods said.

“I had a few bad bursts and made a few bad swings on top of that. I told Joey [La Cava, his caddie] it’s hard for everyone, let’s get back to the balance of the day one way or another.

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“There’s a few people out there that don’t wrestle, Scottie and JT [Justin Thomas] run their business, but hey, I made the cut, I had a chance to get into the weekend.

“It’s going to be cool tomorrow, it’s going to be the course Augusta National wants, faster, drier, faster and a great test.

“I don’t feel as good as I would like, but that’s okay. I have a chance to go into the weekend, I hope to have one of those light bulb moments and do it. I have to get on with it, that’s the key.

Woods is 19th at the halfway mark and, despite still being in the tournament, looks a long way from catching Scheffler.

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Coming to Augusta National at the top of the standings after three wins in his last five outings, the American continued where he left off.

He produced a superb second-round 67 despite high winds making scoring difficult.

It gave the 25-year-old a mid-point total of eight under par and a record five-stroke lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and the leader of the first Sung-jae Im tower.

The five players who held a commanding lead halfway through the tournament’s history went on to claim the green jacket, with Jordan Spieth being the most recent to do so in 2015.

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