36 marvelous holes of a crunchy, tasty, firm, diabolical Masters tournament are in the books. 54 golfers survived the cut, and 15 of them sit within five shots of the lead, currently 7 under.

If you want excitement, watch Viktor Hovland this weekend. We don’t mention him below, but he deserves a tip of the cap for not going away. He was outside the cut line until he made birdie at 13 and eagle at 15. He’s six back, and if he can get rid of the crazies and the loonies, he might shoot 62 on Saturday or Sunday.

It’s time to learn the five things that we picked up today and position yourself for a glorious weekend. Let’s gooooo!

1. “Part humor, part roses, part thorns.” Justin Rose posts even par on Friday

Perhaps there lies a hidden connection between the lead singer of the 80s hair band Poison and the champion golfer, perhaps not. The internet attributes the quote “My life has been part humor, part roses, part thorns” to Bret Michaels, and Justin Rose certainly would agree that round the second at the 2021 Masters offered a bit of each. Rose began with bogey for a second consecutive day, and despite a birdie at the second, turned in 3 over par. Like Thursday, he found his way back to safety on the inward half, with birdies at the 13th, 14th, and 16th.

If there is a secret to winning the Masters, it is to make your mistakes early and your birdies and eagles late. Rose has played the back nine in 30 and 33 strokes over the first two days. If he can find a way to play the outward half in par on Saturday and Sunday, well, he’ll have a second major championship to go with his 2013 U.S. Open trophy.

2. Is The Bermuda Triangle too obvious?

If 11 through 13 represents a corner, then holes 4, 5, and 6 geometrically stand out as a three-sided polygon. Through the first two days, that three-hole sequence stands out as a place where Augusta dreams meet an early reckoning. Many golfers reached the fourth tee on the heels of two or even three birdies, only to run headfirst into a sea of mighty discontent. The trio ranked first, second, and fifth most difficult on day two, and featured the longest par 3 and the toughest par 4. A case could be made that five plays longer than 11, despite measuring 10 yards less.

There’s no telling how the ghost of Herbert Warren Wind would christen the 915-yard stretch of fairway in today’s era. Wind summoned a hymn in the middle of the previous century when he famously baptized the early part of the back nine as Amen Corner. In an era of technological onslaught, the tournament directors seem to have solved part of the puzzle by creating a second implausible stretch of golf on their wondrous course. If anyone should happen to play four through six at even par or better on the weekend, expect their names to take up residence on the first page of the leaderboard.

3. Farewell until May or next April

Sadly, there was a cut on Friday afternoon, and it came at +3 after much deliberation. The briefly-defending champion, Dustin Johnson, had a rare day of poor driving, and it cost him. Bogey at 15 and 17 put him over the limit by one slim stroke. His former workout buddy, Brooks Koepka, made every effort at a Tiger-esque recovery from recent knee surgery, but the bionic man could not make enough putts to reach the weekend. Joining DJ and BK on the sideline were the perplexing Rory McIlroy, the peripatetic Bernhard Langer, and Green Jacket-bearers Danny Willett, Mike Weir, and Sergio Garcia. Representing the geezers on the weekend is two-time Masters winner and second-low Basque, José-María Olazabal, who touched down at +2.

4. Tyrannosaurus Zalatoris is quite the story

We don’t expect the nickname to stick, but it beats Lavoris, a 1970s-era mouthwash. The young lion bided his time on the front nine, playing even-par golf until the 9th, where he went right-right and bogey. On the inward half, the rights became centers, and Zalatoris notched five birdies and four bogeys for 31 coming home and a Saturday pairing with the leader, the aforementioned Mr. Rose.

Ironic is the failure to birdie either par-5 hole on the second nine. Neither tee ball was what one might call ideal, and the Zed resisted any temptation to go for the green in two. He laid up safely, took his medicine, and made par at both holes. Anytime you shoot 68 or better at Augusta National, you’ve made your share of just about everything. Win, lose, or draw this weekend, the experience of teeing off in the last group on Saturday is a huge step for the Young Turk.

5. And our pick for the win is…

Not Justin Rose. He is a viable candidate for a suitcoat fitting, but the confidence that borders on arrogance is just not there. Not Will Zalatoris. We’d love to see the “not since Fuzzy” thing about first-year players not becoming first-time champions go away, but it isn’t happening in 2021. Not Jordan Spieth, who reached 5 under with late heroics, nor Marc Leishman, who reached 5 under with early, mid, and late-round heroics. Our prediction for the win is a bald man of Woosnam-esque stature, who swings from the side favored by Phil Mickelson, and Mike Weir, both Masters champions. He is (drumroll, please)…

Brian Harman. It’s simply his time.