Thomas Björn tore out of the blocks in the second round of the 66th Masters Tournament as he amazingly birdied the first five holes at Augusta National to charge up the leaderboard.
The Danish Ryder Cup player raced through the field from two over par to three under and to move within two strokes of joint leaders Sergio Garcia and Davis Love III.
Björn had been four over par for the first six holes yesterday, but his start this morning left him needing only one more birdie before the turn to equal the greatest outward half in Masters Tournament history. The run of birdies came to an end on the 180 yard sixth hole, but a par three there meant he had played the first six in a mere 18 strokes.
He dropped his first shot of the day on the seventh but nevertheless reached the turn in 32 strokes, two shots outside the record nine holes at Augusta National.
The European Tour contingent continued to dominate the leaderboard during the early stages of the second round with ten European Tour Members bunched within three strokes of the lead.
Harrington hit his approach to three feet on the 435 yard first and, with overnight leader Love III having bogeyed the hole moments before, the Dubliner was back in a tie for top spot.
Garcia, a shot adrift overnight, joined Harrington and Love III at the top with a birdie at the short fourth.
The day was bound to be a memorable one, Arnold Palmer having announced after his opening 89 that this would be his final round in the Masters Tournament. All available members of the famous 'Arnie's Army' were on parade to give him a fitting farewell.
