Augusta, GA
Justin Rose stays in the Masters lead with some All-Star company
Justin Rose celebrates on the 17th hole during the second round at the Masters golf tournament, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose did just enough keep the lead Friday in the Masters, only he suddenly has a lot of company going into the weekend at Augusta National.
Bryson DeChambeau became the only player with consecutive sub-70 rounds and got within 1 shot, putting him in the final group. Right behind was Rory McIlroy, who tried to erase from his memory that sloppy finish in the first round and roared into contention to put the career Grand Slam back into view.
Scottie Scheffler started his title defense with 24 straight holes without a bogey. He then made five bogeys over the last 12 holes to slow his progress. He still was only 3 shots behind.
“The leaderboard is stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there,” Rose said after his 1-under 71, which featured birdies on the par 5s on the front nine and on the par 3s on the back nine.
“So you’re going to have to play great golf, and you’re going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it,” he said. “It’s as simple as that, really.”
Rose took a 3-shot lead into the second round and had the advantage of playing early, before the wind became strong enough to make flags snap and create just enough indecision.
He hit a 9-iron over Rae’s Creek to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th, and he stuffed his tee shot on the par-3 16th for another birdie. That allowed him to atone for a few mistakes.
He was at 8-under 136, the third time he has had the 36-hole lead at the Masters.
The buzz came from behind him.
DeChambeau picked up an unlikely birdie by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 fourth hole on his way to a 32 on the front nine that kept him on Rose’s heels the rest of the way. He wound up with a 68 for his best start ever in the Masters.
“This is what golf is about,” DeChambeau said. “Got a lot of great names up there, and looking forward to an unbelievable test of golf.”
And then there was McIlroy, who had two double bogeys over the last four holes Thursday, the latest frustrating chapter for him at the Masters. This time he managed to forget about it and move on. He went birdie-birdie-par-eagle to start the back nine and was on his way to a bogey-free 66.
“I had to remind myself I was playing well,” McIlroy said. “I couldn’t let two bad holes dictate the narrative of the 16 good ones. I also had to remind myself this morning not to push too hard too early.”
Corey Conners of Canada quietly put together a 70 and joined McIlroy at 6-under 138.
Justin Rose looks at the leaderboard on the 18th hole during the second round at the Masters golf tournament, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
AP
The group three shots back included Scheffler (71), former British Open champion Shane Lowry (68) and Tyrrell Hatton, who got within one shot of Rose until a pair of three-putts. One of them did a U-turn down the hill at the 16th. The other was a sleepy tap-in that lipped out.
It shapes up for a wide-open weekend, led by a 44-year-old from England who has gone a dozen years since winning his only major at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose spoke last year about finding another stretch of magic in his career, and opportunity awaits.
That’s also the case for DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion; for McIlroy, the sentimental favorite of so many at the Augusta National as he tries to get the last leg of the career Grand Slam; for Scheffler who coped with plenty of stress the course gave him Friday.
“That’s the company that I expect to keep, and that’s where I have tried to be my whole career,” Rose said. “I’ve been a top-10 player in the world for a decade or more. So yeah, this is nice to be back in that mix.”
McIlroy was thrilled, too. There was plenty of temptation to come out firing, but that’s what he did in 2023 when he played Friday afternoon and saw he faced a 10-shot deficit. He tried to charge and wound up charging right out of the parking lot after missing the cut.
This time, he played the front nine with one birdie and eight pars. But he came to life quickly, stuffing a three-quarter 8-iron to a foot on No. 10 and a similar play with a 9-iron to about 4 feet on No. 11. Best of all was hitting 4-iron off the pine straw on the par-5 13th that narrowly cleared the tributary of Rae’s Creek and set up a 10-foot eagle.
“Things sort of clicked into gear on the back nine,” McIlroy said.
The cut was at 2-over 146, marking the end of 67-year-old Bernhard Langer’s Masters career. He needed to make a 10-foot par putt on the last hole, only for it to tickle the right side of the cup.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka might have had the most shocking departure. He was in good shape, needing a bogey on the 18th. He made a quadruple bogey, starting with a tee shot into the trees and ending with a three-putt from 10 feet.
Now the attentions shifts back to the top, where 16 players were separated by five shots going into the final two days.
Rose is atop the leaderboard after a round for the 10th time at Augusta, without a green jacket to show for it. He will try to become the second-oldest player at 44 to win the green jacket behind Jack Nicklaus (46) in that mystical 1986 Masters.
Scottie Scheffler hits his tee shot on the 14th hole during the second round at the Masters golf tournament, Friday, April 11, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
AP
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The two-state region is getting ready for expected record-breaking travel this coming Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of summer.
AAA predicts a record 1.38 million Georgians will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Memorial Day period. That’s an increase of nearly 45,000 compared to last year.
AAA expects more than 45.1 million nationwide to travel for Memorial Day weekend. That’s 1.4 million more domestic travelers than last year. It’s also a new Memorial Day weekend record, surpassing the previous record set back in 2005 with 44 million people.
| Georgia numbers | 2025 | 2024 | 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total travelers | 1.38 million | 1.34 million | 1.30 million |
| Automobile | 1.23 million | 1.19 million | 1.16 million |
| Airplane | 120,000+ | 117,000+ | 104,000+ |
| Other modes | 28,000+ | 27,000+ | 33,000+ |
By car
AAA projects 39.4 million people will travel by car over Memorial Day weekend. That’s 1 million more travelers than last year. This year, 87% of Memorial Day travelers will take a road trip.
Fortunately, a trip to the gas pump should be lower than last year.
Gas is set to be the cheapest it’s been in years as nearly 40 million Americans are expected to hit the road for Memorial Day.
The national average price of a gallon of gas is expected to be $3.08 on Memorial Day, according to projections released Tuesday by Gas Buddy. That’s the lowest price at this time of year since 2021.
If you consider inflation, it’s the cheapest gas has been since 2003, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, gas in Georgia was running $2.92 per gallon, or $2.90 in Augusta. The price in South Carolina was $2.80 per gallon, or $2.82 in Aiken and Edgefield counties.
Drivers can still find ways to save even more at the pump.
- Start by peeking at current prices on the AAA fuel site and using the AAA gas cost calculator to get an idea of the cost of your road trip.
- Once you hit the road, remember that the gas stations right off the interstate are usually the most expensive. If you want to save money, drive farther down the road for cheaper gas. AAA members receive stackable discounts on gas through the Fuel Rewards® program at participating Shell stations.
- After you fill up, avoid speeding. Fuel economy peaks around 50 mph on most cars, then drops off as speeds increase. Reducing highway speeds by 5 to 10 mph can increase fuel economy by as much as 14%.
By air
Airports are bracing for another bustling holiday weekend. AAA projects 3.61 million air passengers, a nearly 2% increase over last year when 3.55 million travelers took to the skies.
While this Memorial Day weekend isn’t expected to set an air travel record, officials do expect to set one at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s busiest.
Officials say they expect 2.6 million travelers to pass through the airport for the Memorial Day period this year.
According to AAA booking data (based on what travelers paid when booking Memorial Day weekend flights):
- Domestic flights are 2% more expensive than last year, with the average round-trip ticket costing $850.
- Most of those flights are to popular destinations like Chicago, New York, Orlando, Denver, and Seattle.
By other modes
Travel by other modes continues to rise steadily post-pandemic.
AAA projects 2.08 million people will travel by train, bus, or cruise over Memorial Day weekend, an 8.5% increase over last year. This category now surpasses pre-pandemic numbers from 2018 and 2019, but it doesn’t reach the record numbers of the early 2000s, when more people chose trains and buses after 9/11.
Cruising’s growing popularity is highlighted by the strong demand for Alaska cruises this season. Top domestic cruise destinations for Memorial Day weekend include Fairbanks, Anchorage and Juneau. Overall, travelers are turning to cruises in record numbers. Earlier this year, AAA projected a record 19 million Americans planned to take cruises in 2025.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Downtown Augusta businesses are up in arms over plans to replace parking with bike lanes — something that could affect all of us.
The businesses – including restaurants on Broad Street – have launched a petition drive that’s gained 1,500 signatures so far.
Downtown Augusta is full of parking on the street right now. That includes convenience spaces in the median of Broad Street.
That could all change as part of a plan to revamp downtown – all on the heels of the removal of countless towering trees, a move that’s drawn criticism from some.
“It’s challenging because Augusta, as desperately as we want to be a Greenville or Savannah, even I’m not sure that we’re quite there yet,” said Emma Claire Hansen, who works at Merry’s Home Furnishings. “I hope that we do get there one day, where it is full of pedestrians who are coming down the sidewalks and riding their bikes downtown. Right now, I’m not sure that it’s all that necessary. But perhaps they see a different end goal than we do. I would be more concerned with parking than the bicycle lane.”
Luigi’s Italian restaurant started the petition that’s been joined by other downtown businesses like Merry’s Home Furnishings, Tribeca Lounge, the Imperial Theatre, the multi-restaurant Frog Hollow Group, Nacho Mama’s and the Sports Center.
“So downtown parking, obviously they are very old streets and it can be a bit of a challenge because the roadways are very narrow down here and there’s not a ton of parking in downtown to begin with,” Hansen said.
Many people are worried about that end goal taking away parking spots they say are needed – potentially taking away business.
“At Merry’s, it’s not as big of a challenge because we are here during the daytime, so it’s a little easier to park here during the daytime,” Hansen said. “But for restaurants, of course, they already seat more people than parking allows in front of their restaurants, so when it gets busy and everyone is coming down for dinner, it’s a challenge.”
One business told News 12 off camera that a key concern is surviving through the construction that downtown construction work will bring.
The businesses seem to agree on wanting to see improvements downtown.
They just don’t want to lose business because of it.
“We love downtown Augusta. We’ve seen a lot of ups and downs with being here, but we’re super excited for the development that they are planning here,” Hansen said.
“I don’t think there’s anyone in Augusta who doesn’t want downtown to be better and more beautiful and more accessible. We would love to see more businesses come here.”
LEARN MORE
By the numbers: Parking in downtown Augusta
- The question of parking came up less than a month ago at a meeting of Augusta Commission members. The transportation engineering staff told commissioners:
- There are 760 total parking spots on the surface street, including the recessed parking wells. The number would be about 620 if they were made standard.
- Most, if not all surface street parking stalls are substandard, causing, among other issues, crooked parking.
- Officials say the current parking spaces are too narrow, based on current vehicle sizes. They gave a presentation demonstrating that vehicles have gotten larger since the 1990s.
- Construction plans show 590 street-level parking spaces.
- There are underutilized spots downtown in four available parking decks, including one that on a recent check only had 15% of spaces used and another that was only 31% full.
One business even hired its own architect to look at improving Augusta with more parking – developing a plan to show local leaders.
News 12 reached out to local officials, and we’re still waiting to hear back.
But there’s a meeting about this that we will continue to follow.
That meeting is at 5 p.m. Wednesday at 5 p.m. at Fat Man’s Cafe on Greene Street.
It’s a time when downtown business owners and others can learn about work timelines and their impacts.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Saturday was National River Cleanup Day, and people in our area stepped up to the plate to help.
Richmond County leaders say they normally do river clean-up events several times a year.
This time, it ironically fell on National River Cleanup Day.
People were out at Lake Olmstead and the Augusta Canal.
The lake was recently restored, and leaders say they used today as an opportunity to make it look even better.
We’ve had about ten people show up so far, which is really good for people that are that dedicated to ship on a Saturday morning to come pick up trash. And so we’ve been very happy with it, and we hope to get a lot of this material out of here and really make a difference in the overall appearance and the function of the lake,” said Wes Byne, director of utilities.
If you want to help clean up our lakes and rivers, you can call the Augusta Utilities Department at 706-821-1851 and find out how you can join the next event.
Copyright 2025 WRDW/WAGT. All rights reserved.
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