Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant said he is no longer motivated by titles, with the former NBA MVP focused on development and further improvement.
Durant has won it all in his illustrious basketball career – two championships and two NBA Finals MVP awards, to go with his 2014 Most Valuable Player gong and 11 All-Star selections.
The 32-year-old arrived in Brooklyn in 2019, having claimed both of his NBA titles with the Golden State Warriors.
Having battled Achilles and hamstring injuries during his time with the star-studded Nets – who are eyeing their maiden championship – Durant said he is not driven by silverware.
"I wasn't expecting to be a happy human being from a title," Durant told ESPN. "I was just expecting like, you know, the ending of a movie -- once you worked so hard and everybody tells you like, 'Yo, this is what you need to be working for, is this gold ball and these rings'.
"And I'm just like, 'All right, cool, let me lock in on that.' And I locked in on wanting to achieve that, but I also realised it's a lot of stuff that factors in it that's out of my control.
"And once I won a championship [with Golden State], I realised that, like, my view on this game is really about development. Like, how good can I be? It's not about, you know, let's go get this championship.
"I appreciate that stuff and I want to win to experience that stuff, but it's not the end-all, be-all of why I play the game."
Durant added: "I've been around, been out of the game for two years and having anxiety about like, 'What am I doing when I get back?
"Being out with an Achilles has you thinking about the game differently. And my goal is to be out there, you know. Who knows what's gonna happen when I'm out there.
"I just want to be available. And I think that's all I really want out of this, to be available for as long as I can. And we'll see what happens between the lines."
Durant is averaging 28.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists for the Nets this season, while he is boasting a career-best three-point percentage (44.3).
The Nets (36-16) are a game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers (35-17) atop the Eastern Conference.
Hideki Matsuyama produced a flawless seven-under-par 65 as his stunning late blitz earned a four-stroke lead heading into the final round of The Masters.
Matsuyama – chasing his maiden major title and Japan's first in men's golf – made a huge splash on moving day at Augusta, where the 29-year-old seized control following a weather delay on Saturday.
After inclement weather halted proceedings, Matsuyama jumped out of the blocks and gained six shots in seven holes to leave overnight leader Justin Rose in his tracks.
Matsuyama – who birdied the seventh hole on a bogey-free front nine – was red hot following the turn, the five-time PGA Tour champion birdieing the 11th and 12th.
Unstoppable, Matsuyama eagled the 15th before following that up with back-to-back birdies at the 16th and 17th as he soared to 11 under through 54 holes.
Matsuyama – making his 87th start since his last victory at the 2017 WGC-FedEx St Jude Invitational – posted the first bogey-free round this week and his best score in 37 rounds at The Masters.
Xander Schauffele and Marc Leishman also made their moves to join Rose and Will Zalatoris in a share of second spot heading into Sunday's final round.
Runner-up in 2019, American Schauffele improved 10 positions thanks to a third-round 68, which included an eagle, four birdies and two bogeys.
Leishman (70) – who finished tied for fourth in 2013 – enjoyed a strong finish, with two birdies from his final bogey-free six holes leaving him in a mix to become just the second Australian to win a green jacket after Adam Scott (2013).
The penultimate day did not go according to plan for Englishman Rose, who signed for a second consecutive 72 in Georgia.
It was a mixed day for Rose as the one-time major champion split three birdies and as many bogeys, while American Zalatoris (71) is also seven under overall.
Highlighted by an ace on the sixth hole, Corey Conners posted a four-under-par 68 to be outright sixth, five strokes behind Matsuyama.
Former world number one and 2015 champion Jordan Spieth – who ended his near-four-year title drought last week – will begin Sunday six shots off the pace following his 72.
Another former Masters winner, 2018 champion Patrick Reed, is four strokes further back after shooting a two-under-par 70 to be level alongside Justin Thomas (75) and last year's runner-up Cameron Smith (73).
There will be no dream first WTA Tour final for Paula Badosa at the Charleston Open after she was defeated in the last four by Veronika Kudermetova.
Badosa claimed the biggest win of her career so far in the quarter-finals when she knocked out world number one Ash Barty.
But the 23-year-old, twice beaten in the semis at WTA 250-level events in the past year, came up short against 15th seed Kudermetova.
The Russian was clinical, taking four of her six break point opportunities in a straightforward 6-3 6-3 success.
Kudermetova had previously knocked out Sloane Stephens but will now be favourite against Danka Kovinic.
The underdog's straight-sets defeat of Ons Jabeur in the last four should ensure there is no complacency from Kudermetova.
In Bogota, 19-year-old wildcard Maria Camila Osorio Serrano will play for the title after swatting aside qualifier Harmony Tan 6-1 6-2.
The former top-ranked junior will have to negotiate fifth seed Tamara Zidansek, however, after she defeated Viktoriya Tomova 6-3 7-5.
A weather delay gave Augusta leader Justin Rose time to reflect on a mixed start to Saturday's play at The Masters.
Rose had led by four strokes after the first round but saw that advantage cut to a single shot on Friday, with Will Zalatoris and Brian Harman his closest challengers.
The one-time major champion was last out on moving day but quickly set about restoring a healthy lead.
Indeed, birdies at the first two holes had Rose three clear at nine under, yet this hot streak did not last.
Rose found the bunker at four and could only rescue a bogey, before befalling the same fate at the fifth, the sand contributing again.
The Englishman recovered with par at the sixth and had just played a solid tee shot at seven when an official approached and sounded the horn to signal an imminent storm.
As play was suspended, Rose was again one ahead of Zalatoris, who was joined at six under by Marc Leishman.
Corey Conners was the day's big mover to that point, in a tie for fourth after playing 11 holes at three under.
Conners' hole in one at the par-three sixth was the highlight, coming straight after the first of two bogeys.
Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama - both one under for the day - were level with Conners, while Harman was back at four under following three bogeys and a birdie through seven.
Jordan Spieth's challenge faltered, although a superb birdie brought him back level with Harman after a double-bogey at seven had threatened to knock him out of contention entirely.
Patrick Reed - two under on Saturday and one under for the week - and Phil Mickelson - three under to reach even par - were among those to complete their rounds before the weather hit.
Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta and fellow Spaniard Jaume Munar will meet in the Andalucia Open final on Sunday.
Carreno Busta was pushed all the way by Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a pulsating semi-final, ultimately coming through 6-1 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
"It was so close. I don't know what happened in the second set," Carreno said. "At the beginning of the match, I was very focussed on my game and being aggressive.
"After that, Albert, of course, started to push [back] more and [I] started to lose my level a little bit.
"I just kept fighting all the time, and I want to thank everyone [in the crowd] for their support. This is what we missed last year, the crowd. It's very important to play these kinds of very close matches with a crowd like this."
He will take on Munar after the 23-year-old edged past Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Munar, who reached a final on the ATP Challenger Tour last week, said: "I feel happy and excited. I've been working a lot during the last [few] months.
"It's a gift for me to be here in a final, and especially in Marbella which is one of my favourite places. I feel excited."
Elsewhere, Lorenzo Sonego is aiming to become the first Italian to win an ATP Tour clay-court title on home soil for 15 years when he takes on Laslo Djere in the final of the Sardegna Open on Sunday.
Sonego, 25, overcame American Taylor Fritz 6-4 5-7 6-1 to give himself the opportunity to add to his Antalya Open title from 2019.
Standing in his way is Serbian Djere, who cruised past Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-2 6-0 in just 52 minutes.
Djere was in control from the outset and from 3-2 in the first set went on to win nine straight games, helping him to his third ATP Tour final.
Rachael Blackmore hailed "sensational" horse Minella Times after she became the first female jockey to win the Grand National.
Blackmore was the first woman to collect the Ruby Walsh Trophy at Cheltenham last month and claimed another piece of history at an empty Aintree on Saturday.
Jett had been well clear with six fences remaining, but Blackmore and Minella Times surged into the lead on the run back towards the grandstands.
A good jump at the last then helped secure victory by six and a half lengths over 100-1 shot Balko Des Flos.
As ITV Sport highlighted the historic nature of Blackmore's triumph, she replied: "I don't feel male or female at the moment, I don't even feel human. This is just unbelievable."
Trainer Henry de Bromhead remarkably had both Minella Times and Balko Des Flos.
He won the Champion Hurdle, the Champion Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March, and Blackmore was in awe of the work he has done with Minella Times.
"I just cannot believe it. [Minella Times] was absolutely sensational today," she said. "What Henry de Bromhead does with these horses, I don't know.
"I'm so lucky to be riding him and I just can't believe we've won the Grand National. It's unbelievable.
"He was just incredible. Jumped beautifully, I was trying to wait as long as I could. When we jumped the last and I asked him for a bit, he was there. It's just incredible."
Super Rugby Australia leaders Queensland Reds made it seven wins from as many games as they came from behind to defeat second-placed Brumbies 24-22.
The Reds found themselves 15-6 down at half-time on Saturday, with their winning run under threat.
However, they had won four of the last five home games where they had trailed at half-time, and they made that five in six – including their last four such games in succession – with a blistering display after the interval.
Having finished the first half on the front foot, the Reds went over for their first try through Josh Flook shortly after the restart.
Tom Wright hit back to make it 20-13 to the Brumbies, with Noah Lolesio adding the extras.
Yet the Brumbies could not hold out, Jordan Petaia taking in James O'Connor's kick to reduce the gap to four points.
O'Connor's kick drifted wide, but he atoned with two penalties in the final 10 minutes to preserve the Reds' winning start.
Damian McKenzie's long-range extra-time penalty saw the Chiefs edge the Highlanders 26-23 to claim Super Rugby Aotearoa's first golden-point triumph.
It proved a moment of atonement for McKenize, who had punted wide from a similar opportunity at the end of regulation time.
In total, McKenzie kicked 16 of the Chief's 26 points, with Etene Nanai-Seturo and Angus Ta'avao scoring the visitors' tries in Dunedin.
Chasing a third straight win, the Chiefs led for much of the encounter, yet were pegged back late on by fly-half Josh Ioane, who converted his own try before drilling a penalty through the sticks to force extra-time.
James Lentjes and Aaron Smith had previously crossed for the hosts at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
It was McKenzie who struck the decisive blow, landing a penalty from just short of the halfway line to send the Chiefs into third place on 12 points, two shy of the Blues, who occupy the second semi-final berth, with table-topping Crusaders coming up next.
Zion Williamson hailed the influence of Pelicans assistant coach Teresa Weatherspoon after he had a standout night against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 20-year-old had a career-best 15 rebounds plus 37 points and eight assists as New Orleans turned to him in Lonzo Ball's absence, Williamson driving the team to a 101-94 win.
The 2019 number one draft pick and former Duke Blue Devils star said the Pelicans showed impressive resolve to bounce back from a mauling by the Brooklyn Nets in their previous game.
Usually a power forward, Williamson was deployed as a point guard throughout on Friday night, saying that thanks to stepfather Lee Anderson's training the role felt "normal", adding: "It was just having the opportunity to go and show it."
He gave much of the credit for his surge in form to Weatherspoon as he remarked on what differences he noticed in his game over the past couple of months.
"I would definitely say my confidence and going deeper into my arsenal. That's really a shout-out to two people, my stepfather and coach Teresa Weatherspoon," Williamson said.
"It's just the small things and she's like, 'Z, you do this, take your time and be you'. It's those small things that give me all the confidence I need to go out there and be me."
Williamson produced a pull-up jumper in his repertoire, saying: "I have it in my bag. Coach K [Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] said I want to be a perfectionist. All that means is I want to get the closest and easiest shot.
"T-Spoon [Weatherspoon] was the reason I shot that. She said, 'Z, just give me one, if you don't like it, you don't have to shoot it again'.
"When I shot it, it felt good. I liked the result to be honest. She tells me every game but tonight she was like, 'Z, just give me one'. I tried it and it worked."
Weatherspoon, 55, is a former WNBA star who has been a full-time assistant with the Pelicans since last November.
Although he missed out on a first career NBA triple-double, Williamson said what was most important was the team's reaction to their 139-111 thrashing by Brooklyn.
"I think when it comes to games like that, it's the character you show bouncing back in the next game that really defines you," Williamson said.
"As a team we bounced back great and got the win.
"I wasn't really watching [the triple-double possibility], but after every timeout everybody was like, 'Z, just get two more [assists]'.
"But in my mind I was like, 'Let's win the game'."
Homegrown Joe Musgrove tossed the first no-hitter in the San Diego Padres' franchise history in a 3-0 victory over the Texas Rangers in MLB on Friday night.
Musgrove blanked the Rangers across nine close-to-faultless innings with 10 strikeouts, which set off wild frenzied celebrations among the Padres.
"Everyone dreams of getting the chance to throw a no-hitter," Musgrove said post-game. "I've never even thrown a no-hitter in my life, so my first one came today on this field.
"It's awesome to have it be in a Padres uniform and for it to be the first one for the franchise. That's incredible."
It was only Musgrove's second start for the Padres and improves their season record to 5-3.
Shohei Ohtani may not be on the mound at the moment but he hit his third home run of the year in the Los Angeles Angels' 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Japanese star went 2-for-5 at the plate with a homer, double and four RBIs, with Mike Trout taking a backseat.
Acuna does it all for Braves
Young gun Ronald Acuna Jr did it all for the Atlanta Braves in their 8-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
The 23-year-old Venezuelan hit a huge home run, added a duo of doubles and made a super outfield catch as he notched his fifth career four-hit game to lead the Braves to victory.
"That just shows you the complete player he is and the skillset this kid has and what he brings," Braves manager Brian Snitker said.
Corey Kluber had a tough shift as the New York Yankees were battered by reigning American League champions the Tampa Bay Rays 10-5.
Rich Hill struck out seven for the Rays while Joey Wendle and Brandon Lowe combined to drive in five.
Justin Turner homered in the sixth inning to earn the Los Angeles Dodgers a 1-0 victory over the Washington Nationals.
After being beaten by the Houston Astros five times, the Oakland Athletics hit back with Matt Olson's three-run homer helping them to a 6-2 triumph.
Fowler felled in scary play
In a scary moment, Angels' right fielder Dexter Fowler was carted off with a left knee issue after an awkward fall on second base, although cmanager Joe Maddon later said "I don't think it's bad, fortunately".
Freddie finds his form
Acuna stole the show for the Braves but 2020 National League MVP Freddie Freeman would not be denied with a big home run of his own.
Friday's results
Tampa Bay Rays 10-5 New York Yankees
Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0 Washington Nationals
San Francisco Giants 3-1 Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Angels 7-1 Toronto Blue Jays
Cleveland Indians 4-1 Detroit Tigers
Atlanta Braves 8-1 Philadelphia Phillies
San Diego Padres 3-0 Texas Rangers
Oakland Athletics 6-2 Houston Astros
Cincinnati Reds 6-5 Arizona Diamondbacks
Yankees at Tampa
There's a full 15-game fixture on Saturday with the Tampa Bay Rays series against the New York Yankees ongoing.
Zion Williamson underlined his status as the emerging star of the NBA with a dominant display in the New Orleans Pelicans' 101-94 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
The 2019 number one draft pick had a career-best 15 rebounds along with 37 points and eight assists as the Pels turned to him in Lonzo Ball's absence.
Pelicans coach Stan Van Gundy said: "We decided we'd play him at the point all night. He had the ball in his hands all the time and the ability to make plays.
"Had we shot decently he would have finished with double figure assists too. He played the game the way you're supposed to play the game. He was incredible tonight."
Joel Embiid was kept quiet by Steven Adams, managing only 14 points and nine rebounds for the 76ers who are behind the Brooklyn Nets in the East with a 35-17 record.
The Los Angeles Clippers blew the Houston Rockets away with a 41-10 second quarter in a 126-109 victory with Kawhi Leonard top scoring with 31 points, along with five rebounds and eight assists.
The win improves the in-form Clippers' record to 36-18 having now won four in a row and 10 of their past 12.
World number one Ash Barty has been knocked out of the Charleston Open after a straight-sets loss to unseeded Spaniard Paula Badosa in Friday's quarter-finals.
Badosa won 6-4 6-3 over the favoured Australian in one hour, 16 minutes to book a spot in the last four on the green clay and a meeting with 15th seed Veronika Kudermetova.
Kudermetova beat 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens 6-3 6-4 in her first win over a grand slam winner.
Former French Open junior champion Badosa, who beat fifth seed Belinda Bencic in the second round, claimed her second career victory over a top-20 player against Barty.
Barty may have hit 34 to 19 winners but she also made twice as many unforced errors, 24 to 12.
The Spaniard broke Barty's serve five times while she sent down seven aces and saved 12 of 14 break points.
"I was quite nervous today but I think I served very well and I think that was the key for the match," Badosa said in her on-court interview.
"It was a tough match but I was there until the last moment and I managed to win."
World number 71 Badosa becomes the lowest-ranked player to beat Barty since September 2019.
The Australian had won eight matches in a row after last week's triumph at the Miami Open.
Unseeded Montenegrin Danka Kovinic came from a set down to topple 11th seed Yulia Putintseva 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-1.
Kovinic, who knocked out Petra Kvitova in the third round, will play 12th seed Ons Jabeur in the semi-finals after she overcame Coco Gauff 6-3 6-3.
Meanwhile, at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota, fifth Tamara Zidansek beat Italy's Sara Errani 6-3 6-4 to claim a spot in the semi-finals.
Viktoriya Tomova outlasted qualifier Nuria Parrizas-Diaz 5-7 6-2 6-4 in almost two and a half hours, while Harmony Tan and local wildcard Maria Camila Osorio Serrano also won.
Defending champion Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy all missed the cut at the Masters on Friday, while Justin Rose remains in the lead.
Johnson, who won the Masters for the first time in November, shot a three-over 75 on the second day to be five over overall and miss the cut by two strokes.
World number one Johnson made three bogeys on his final four holes to miss out, having previously impressed at Augusta, with top-10 finishes in his past five appearances.
He made four birdies on the front nine but also had two bogeys and a double bogey on the fifth.
Johnson becomes the third Masters champion in the past 15 years to miss the cut.
"Six three-putts in two rounds, you just can't do that," Johnson said. "Obviously didn't drive it great but drove it good enough.
"I never was really too bad out of position, just the three-putts killed me. You take all the three-putts away, I'm one under. That was kind of the difference."
The 36-year-old was joined by four-time major winner Koepka with a similar round to miss the cut, along with 2017 Masters winner Garcia, who shot an even round of 72 to finish at four over.
Four-time major winner McIlroy (74) and two-time Masters runner-up Lee Westwood (71) also failed to make the cut, with both unable to recover after poor first days at Augusta.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Rose sits one shot clear of Will Zalatoris and Brian Harman after a second-round 72, having led by four shots on the opening day.
Rose bogeyed four of his first seven holes on Friday, before steadying with three birdies on the back nine to salvage his lead.
"I think it was just a classic day at Augusta National when you're just slightly off," Rose said.
"You can be a foot or two out on certain occasions and you end up struggling. I think maybe off the back of yesterday, it starts to feel pretty different pretty quickly. But I told myself going up the eighth hole, you're leading the Masters, your frame of reference is a little bit different to yesterday. Four ahead is something, but you're still leading so like just enjoy it and keep going."
On his Masters debut, 24-year-old Zalatoris moved up the leaderboard swiftly, aided by five birdies on his back nine, including three straight to finish his round as he carded a four-under 68.
Harman also moved into contention after three birdies on his final six holes to finish with a three-under 69.
Australian Marc Leishman and last week's Texas Open winner Jordan Spieth are tied for fourth after both enjoyed strong rounds on Friday.
Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau both shot 66s on Friday to storm up the leaderboard into joint sixth alongside four other players, including world number two Justin Thomas.
Brooks Koepka is unsure if he will play again before the US PGA Championship after missing the cut at the Masters on Friday.
Playing for the first time since February after undergoing knee surgery, Koepka carded rounds of 74 and 75 to miss the cut at Augusta.
After back-to-back top-10 finishes at the Masters, it marked the first time the four-time major winner had failed to reach the weekend at the tournament.
With the US PGA due to start at Kiawah Island on May 20, Koepka is unsure if that will be his next competitive event.
"It's tough to say right now. That's, what, five weeks ahead, I think? It's kind of tough to say that," he told a news conference.
"I won't miss it, I know that, but tough to say if I'll play anything before that just for how it feels, how rehab goes and everything."
He added: "I wouldn't have been playing for another month if it wasn't this week. So I'll take a nice long break after this.
"Way I look at it, I have two more days to do rehab that I probably wouldn't get if I was out here, and I'll get ready for the PGA."
Koepka, who was playing just his sixth tournament of the year, lamented his putting performance at the Masters.
"Putter was ice cold, didn't make any putts. I don't want to say the speed was off, maybe the reads a little bit. Maybe the start line. I'm not quite sure," he said.
"A lot of them felt like good putts, and they weren't even hitting the hole. I don't know. It could be any one of those things. They felt good coming off the face, but they didn't even sniff it."
Top seed Pablo Carreno Busta led a clean sweep for home players to head up an all-Spanish semi-final slate at the Andalucia Open, where teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz made history.
Carreno Busta demolished seventh seed Soonwoo Kwon 6-4 6-0, while Casper Ruud was stunned in straight sets by wildcard Alcaraz.
The 17-year-old backed up his victory over the veteran Feliciano Lopez in style, becoming the youngest ATP Tour semi-finalist since Alexander Zverev at Hamburg in 2014 with a 6-2 6-4 win.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas will face Carreno Busta after beating Norbert Gombos 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 6-4, while Alcarez is next on the agenda for compatriot Jaume Munar, who was taken the distance by Ilya Ivashka having overcome second seed Fabio Fognini on Thursday.
Taylor Fritz continued his solid form this season with a straight sets victory over Aljaz Bedene to reach the semi-finals of Sardegna Open.
Fritz is playing as the US number one for the first time in Cagliari this week and he made light work of Bedene, prevailing 6-3 6-4 to book a showdown with third seed Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Yannick Hanfmann 3-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 despite being 3-5 down in the second.
Seeded second and ranked 30 in the world, Fitz improved his 2021 record to 11-5 and will look to avenge a defeat in his only other meeting with Sonego on clay, when he lost at Roland Garros last year.
Lorenzo Musetti thrilled as he saved four match points to sink top seed Dan Evans on Thursday but bowed out after another epic, losing to Serbia's Laslo Djere 6-4 4-6 6-2 in two hours and 21 minutes.
Djere, who beat sixth seen John Millman en route to the quarter-finals, will face Nikoloz Basilashvili after the battle between seeds four and five ended 7-5 4-6 6-3 in the Georgian's favour.
Justin Rose mounted a back-nine recovery to finish his second round with a two-shot lead over Jordan Spieth and Marc Leishman.
Rose shot a sublime opening round of 65 at Augusta, but relinquished his four-shot advantage on Friday before returning to the top of the leaderboard with three birdies in his space of four holes.
The Englishman was the man to catch on seven under when he signed for a level-par 72, rallying after bogeying four of the first seven holes in his second round.
Gains at the 13th, 14th and 16th holes gave Rose momentum heading into the weekend as he bids to don the green jacket for the first time.
The in-form Spieth surged into a share of second place with Australian Leishman by carding a four-under 68, with birdies proving easier to come by for the field than on the opening day.
Three-time major champion Spieth, on a high after ending a title drought stretching back to 2017 at the Texas Open last weekend, made four of his five birdies after the turn and only dropped one shot at the 12th.
Leishman also made a significant move, setting the tone by starting with three birdies in row and going on to shoot a five-under 67.
Scintillating six-under rounds of 66 from Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau put them just three shots adrift of Rose along with Justin Thomas, who shot a 67.
Will Zalatoris, Brian Harman and Si Woo Kim were also well poised on four under, with their rounds still in progress. Defending champion Dustin Johnson had work to do back on three over through 10.
Bryson DeChambeau responded to a poor opening round with a 67 of his own to sit at one over, while Brooks Koepka (+5) and Rory McIlroy (+6) were facing a battle to make the cut 10 and eight holes into their rounds respectively.
Lee Westwood was a couple of shots below the projected cut mark on five over midway through his round.
Overnight leader Justin Rose was faltering through nine holes of his second round at the Masters on Friday.
The Englishman made light of tricky scoring conditions to shoot a stunning seven-under-par 65 in round one, during which he picked up nine strokes from the eighth hole having played the first seven at two over.
But after starting bogey-birdie on Friday, Rose dropped three more shots before the turn and was at four under for the tournament midway through his second round.
Bernd Wiesberger was only one shot back having gone through 14 holes at five under for the day, while Hideki Matsuyama and Brian Harman were the same score but yet to begin round two.
Jordan Spieth was only two behind through four holes of his second round, with Marc Leishman among a cluster of players also at -2.
Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau and Cameron Smith were all playing the round at three under as the leaderboard bunched up early on Friday, while Justin Thomas was back at level par overall.
The likes of Jon Rahm (E), Dustin Johnson (+2) and Rory McIlroy (+4) are scheduled to tee off later on Friday.
Mike Elliott will replace James Allison as technical director in a reshuffle for Formula One constructors' champions Mercedes.
Allison has led the Silver Arrows' technical operations since early in 2017, but will step back from day-to-day management to become chief technical officer on July 1.
Elliott, who started his career with McLaren 21 years ago and also worked for Renault, will be promoted to replace Allison.
He joined Mercedes as head of aerodynamics in 2012 before being appointed as the team's technology director four years ago and will switch jobs again in another reshuffle.
Mercedes said in a statement on Friday: "The transition to the new organisation will take place across the coming months as we continue the 2021 championship battle on track and prepare for the significant challenge of the 2022 technical and sporting regulations in our development programmes back at base."
Elliott said: "It has been a great pleasure and privilege to work for James earlier in my career at Renault, and for the past four years at Mercedes. His track record in the sport speaks for itself, and he has been a fantastic team-mate and leader for me during that time.
"They are big shoes to fill and I am delighted that we will be able to call on his expertise in his new role as CTO. On a personal level, it is an amazing opportunity to become Technical Director of a team like Mercedes, and I must thank Toto [Wolff] and our company for trusting me to make the step up to this new role.
"It is an incredible privilege to be part of this team and I know that the leadership strength at every level through the company will be vital to our future success.
"I can't wait to get started and to tackle the many exciting technical challenges ahead of us in the next months and years."
The Silver Arrows have won seven consecutive constructors' titles and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton won the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix last month.
The Western Force snatched a dramatic 16-15 victory over the Rebels on Friday as the home side failed to capitalise on their dominance at AAMI Park.
Despite enjoying 65 per cent of the possession and more than twice as many passes and carries, the Rebels were thwarted by their own lack of cutting edge against a rigid rearguard.
Force then made them pay with the only try of the contest in the 78th minute, Tim Anstee touching down after a rolling maul and Domingo Miotti adding the extras.
Matt Toomua's penalty had given the Rebels a 15-6 lead midway through the second half but a further kick that struck the upright proved a costly miss in an error-strewn contest.
Miotti also missed a kick prior to the visitors' critical try, before a last-gasp wayward drop goal attempt from Reece Hodge brought the contest to a frustrating end for the Rebels.
It was a 10th successive Super Rugby meeting between the sides decided by a single-digit margin.
And the Rebels are now just a point ahead in the Super Rugby AU standings as the battle for semi-final places hots up.
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