Jordan Spieth followed up his opening 64 with a 6-under 66 Friday and made some history along the way. Here’s how things stand entering the weekend in the 79th Masters:
Leaderboard: Jordan Spieth (-14), Charley Hoffman (-9), Dustin Johnson (-7), Justin Rose (-7), Paul Casey (-7), Phil Mickelson (-6), Ernie Els (-5)
What it means: At 14-under 130, Spieth broke Raymond Floyd’s 36-hole aggregate scoring record at Augusta, set in 1976, and he tied the lowest 36-hole aggregate score in major championship history. Martin Kaymer (2014 U.S. Open), Brandt Snedeker (2012 Open Championship) and Nick Faldo (1992 Open Championship) are the other players to post 130 in a major, with Snedeker the only player unable to convert the 36-hole lead into victory. A year after finishing T-2 in his first start at the Masters, the 21-year-old will have another chance to win his first major title.
Round of the day: Spieth and Kevin Na both posted 6-under 66, and Spieth didn’t record a bogey. For the second day in a row, he carded birdies on Nos. 2, 8, 10 and 13. He also added circles on Nos. 5 and 15 to build a five-shot lead over Hoffman, who normally would have a nice lead at Augusta, but instead he’ll start the third round among a group chasing Spieth.
Best of the rest: Johnson nearly tied Spieth and Na for low round of the day until a bogey on 18, but he became the first player in Masters history to make three eagles in one round.
Biggest disappointment: Jason Day (67) and Sergio Garcia (68) got off to good starts, but they both backed up in the second round with 2-over 74s.
Main storyline heading into the weekend: While it will be interesting to see if Tiger Woods can follow up his decent start (73-69), the spotlight now completely shifts to Spieth. He has been red hot this season (a victory, a second and a playoff loss last weekend in Houston), but there is still a long way to go and several major champions – including Rose, Els and Mickelson – are in the mix. Hoffman, a three-time Tour winner, has also been playing great, while Johnson’s eagle run showed there can be huge swings of momentum on the back nine at Augusta.
