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Spieth rewrites Masters record book
Grand Slam hopes fading fast for McIlroy
Triple eagle blast from Johnson
Spieth rewrites Masters record book
AUGUSTA, 10 Apr, 2015 (AFP) - Jordan Spieth completed the greatest 36-hole start in Masters history Friday, firing a six-under par 66 at Augusta National that matched him for the lowest halfway total in any major.
The 21-year-old American stood on 14-under 130 after two rounds, a bogey-free Friday giving Spieth a Masters midpoint record-matching five-stroke lead over compatriot Charley Hoffman.
"Any time you can set a record here is pretty awesome," Spieth said. "I'm really excited about how I played."
Fourth-ranked Spieth broke the Masters 36-hole low of 13-under 131 set by Ray Floyd in 1976 and nearly broke the low two-round major start of 130.
Spieth missed a seven-foot birdie putt at the 18th hole that would have put him on 129, settling for par to join the 130 group that includes England's Nick Faldo from the 1992 British Open at Muirfield, American Brandt Snedeker from the 2002 British Open at Lytham and German Martin Kaymer at the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst.
"Didn't know what any of these scores meant in history or anything like that," Spieth said. "I just knew I had a good look at birdie and had a good read on it, and it was just barely off."
Spieth, seeking his first major title after a runner-up Masters debut last year, shared the biggest 36-hole lead mark with Floyd in 1976, Jack Nicklaus in 1975 and Herman Keiser in 1946, after Hoffman closed a round of 68 with his lone bogey.
"I'm happy with the way I played," Hoffman said. "I was going for a bogey-free round and unfortunately I didn't close it out."
Spieth's 36-hole domination, with 15 birdies against one bogey, evoked memories of Tiger Woods' record-setting 1997 Masters romp for his first major title. Woods will remain the youngest Masters champion by about five months even if Spieth wins this year.
"There's a pretty big separation right there," Woods said. "He has played beautifully."
The record 36-hole Masters comeback to win is eight strokes by Jack Burke in 1956 but there are only four rivals to Spieth inside that margin, Hoffman and a pack at seven back -- American Dustin Johnson and England's Justin Rose and Paul Casey -- and three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson on 138.
Johnson fired a 67 that included a Masters one-round record of three eagles, coming at the par-5 second, eighth and 15th holes.
"I made a lot of great shots and then holed some putts," Johnson said.
World number one Rory McIlroy and Woods, a 14-time major champion back after a two-month layoff to work on his game, were each sharing 19th on 142, 12 adrift.
Woods fired a 69 and said he was "very proud of what I've done, to be able to dig it out the way I have."
Woods, 39, has not won a Masters since 2005, has not won a major since the 2008 US Open and has not won any title since the 2013 WGC at Firestone.
McIlroy, expected to battle for a third major win in a row that would complete his career Grand Slam, flirted with the cut line but went five-under on the back side to finish on 71.
"I'm really proud of myself the way I fought back," McIlroy said.
The hottest player in golf over the past month, Spieth won his second US PGA title in March at the Valspar Championship, took second at the Texas Open and Houston Open, then opened with a 64 Thursday to become the youngest first-round leader in Masters history.
Spieth pitched from 50 feet to inches from the cup to set up a birdie at the second, sank an 18-foot birdie putt at the fifth and birdied eight after finding a fairway bunker. Spieth made an 18-foot birdie putt at 10 and sank eight-footers for birdie at the par-5 13th and 15th.
Before green jacket fittings start, however, Spieth needs to close out the victory, something he could not do last year after leading Sunday on the front nine.
"It's definitely going to play more challenging," Spieth said. "I'm going to have to be more patient, be OK with a bogey here or there."
Four-time major winner and two-time Masters runner-up Ernie Els, nine back on 139, has not given up on catching Spieth. The 45-year-old South African seeks a green jacket in his 21st attempt.
"It's very impressive," Els said. "It's a long, long way from being finished. A lot of work to be done still."
Grand Slam hopes fading fast for McIlroy
AUGUSTA, 10 Apr, 2015 (AFP) - Rory McIlroy's hopes of becoming just the sixth player to win all four Grand Slam titles dimmed further on Friday as he again failed to find his best game at the Masters.
The world number one, winner of the last two majors -- the British Open and the PGA Championship -- could only manage another 71 and at two-under par for the tournament, he only just edged inside the cut for the weekend with a strong showing down the back nine.
The 25-year-old Northern Irishman will start Saturday's third round at Augusta National 12 strokes behind runaway leader Jordan Spieth and with a host of top players stretched out in between the two.
The best-ever comeback to win the Masters came in 1956 when Jack Burke was eight back at the halfway stage and won on the Sunday.
"Just again, here, it's such a fine line. The margin for error is so small," he said.
"Missing it in the wrong places sometimes and I missed a couple of really short putts back there and that affected my confidence a little bit.
"But the good golf is in there. It's just a matter of trying to get rid of the bad stuff, which was all on the front nine today."
McIlroy dropped a shot at the first and his tournament hopes further nose-dived when he four-putted from the edge of ninth green for a double bogey and an outward nine of 40.
A birdie at the 10th gave the four-time major winner renewed hope and he followed with a superb approach to inside a foot for an eagle at 13 that took him back to level par.
A missed two-footer at 14 meant another dropped shot, but he canceled that out at the par-five 15th and ducked under par with superb back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18 as he came home in 31.
A good way to finish and McIlroy hopes it will provide him with some much-needed momentum going into the weekend.
But realistically, his chances this year of matching Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen as the only players to win the four majors may have been damaged beyond repair.
"You know, really, I would need to shoot a 14-under par weekend and Jordan would have to play a couple average rounds, and neither of those two things look like they're going to happen, so it's going to be tough," he said.
"I'll go out and try and play the best that I can and we'll see where that leaves me. But, with a few more nine holes like the one I just had there, you never know."
Triple eagle blast from Johnson
AUGUSTA, 10 Apr, 2015 (AFP) - Big-hitting American Dustin Johnson made Masters history in Friday's second round by bagging three eagles at Augusta National.
He birdied the other par-5 hole to make it seven-under for the course's four longest holes en route to a round of four-under par 68 that left him sharing third place, seven strokes off the lead held by Jordan Spieth.
Johnson's eagles came at the second, after he had double-bogeyed the opener, the eighth and the 15th, with the birdie at the 13th.
The first player to hit three eagles in Masters history, self-effacing Johnson took it all in stride as no big deal.
After all, he already had in his office four of the crystal goblets that Augusta National awards to eagle baggers, meaning he now owns a total of seven.
"It wasn't like I was hitting it any farther. It was normal shots that I've had in the past," he said.
It had been, he added, "an up-and-down" kind of day.
Johnson arrived as one of the favourites for the green jacket after hitting a rich vein of form this season that included four top-10 finishes with a win in the WGC-Cadillac tournament.
It was all in stark contrast to a troubled last year when the South Carolinian needed to take six months off from the game to deal with unspecified "personal issues."
He says is over those problems now and has become a family man with the birth of his first child, a son, with Pauline Gretzky, the daughter of the hockey legend.
Johnson has come close to winning a major before, notably at the 2011 British Open and the 2013 PGA Championship, when he fell foul of an obscure ruling involving grounding the club in sandy areas.
But despite believing that Augusta National suits his game, he has struggled to post a challenge in the Masters, with a tie for 13th his best finish in five previous appearances.
"I always feel good at Augusta. I think the golf course sets up well for me. I just never really played that well here," he said.
"But coming in this year, I felt really confident in my game. I've been playing really good golf and I'm continuing to play good golf.
"I haven't played my best golf the last two days, but I've played pretty good. Hopefully it's just going to keep getting better.
"Just need to go out and play two good, solid rounds. Tomorrow is an important day. Just need to play another good, solid round and put myself in a position to have a chance to win on Sunday."
Woods on the mend at Masters
AUGUSTA, 10 Apr, 2015 (AFP) - Tiger Woods produced his best golf of the year on Friday, firing a three-under par 69 in the second round of the Masters.
The four-time former winner walked off the course with a smile on his face and a two-under total of 142, comfortably making the cut for the weekend, although he stood an imposing 12 shots off the pace set by Jordan Spieth.
Asked when he had last played tournament golf as well as that Woods replied: "I have no idea."
He called a timeout on himself in mid-February to work on putting his crumbling game back together and was in doubt until the Friday before Masters week, when he played a practice round at Augusta National.
Prior to his break from competition, the 14-time major champion had endured a career-worst 82 at Phoenix and a withdrawal through back pain after 11 holes at Torrey Pines.
The 39-year-old former world number one had four birdies against one bogey on Friday and, while, his driving was at times wayward, he looked far more comfortable with his hitherto suspect short-game.
All in all it was a round that boosted Woods' morale no end.
"Very, very proud of what I've done, to be able to dig it out the way I have," he said.
"All the hard work that (my team) and I have been putting into it, I told you guys (journalists) on Tuesday, I was at a pretty low one in my career, but to basically change an entire pattern like that and put it together and put it in a position where I can compete in a major championship like this is something I'm very proud."
Woods got off to the best of starts with a seven-footer for birdie at the first, but the chipping yips he has been suffering from briefly resurfaced greenside at the sixth resulting in a bogey.
He wasted no time in rebounding though, with confident back-to-back birdies at seven and eight to reach the turn in 34.
Another poor tee shot at the tough 11th hole looked like costing him a shot, but instead he hit a tremendous recovery shot to 10 feet and sunk the putt to get to two under, where he stayed for the rest of the round.
Woods' body language appeared positive when he came off, but his chances of adding to his haul of 14 majors look very slim and totally dependent on a big collapse from Spieth.
The 21-year-old Texan evoked memories of Woods himself when he crushed the opposition in the 1997 Masters at a time when he was five months younger than Spieth is now.
Woods' last Masters win was in 2005, his last major triumph was the US Open in 2008 and his last title of any kind the 2013 WGC at Firestone.
Still, he refused to rule himself out of contention, citing the stunning conclusion to the 1996 Masters when Nick Faldo came back from six down in the final round to beat Greg Norman by five strokes.
"I'm still right there," he said. "I'm 12 back, but there's not a lot of guys ahead of me. And with 36 holes here to go, anything can happen, you know -- '96 proved that.
"There's so many holes to play and so many different things can happen. And as I say, we don't know what the conditions are going to be tomorrow, what the (Masters) committee is going to do."
Second round scores at Augusta National on Sunday in the Masters:
130 - Jordan Spieth (USA) 64-66
135 - Charley Hoffman (USA) 67-68
137 - Dustin Johnson (USA) 70-67, Paul Casey (ENG) 69-68, Justin Rose (ENG) 67-70
138 - Phil Mickelson (USA) 70-68
139 - Ernie Els (RSA) 67-72
140 - Ryan Moore (USA) 74-66, Bill Haas (USA) 69-71, Kevin Na (USA) 74-66, Kevin Streelman (USA) 70-70
141 - Mark O'Meara (USA) 73-68, Charl Schwartzel (RSA) 71-70, Louis Oosthuizen (RSA) 72-69, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 71-70, Adam Scott (AUS) 72-69, Jason Day (AUS) 67-74, Angel Cabrera (ARG) 72-69
142 - Danny Willett (ENG) 71-71, Rory McIlroy (NIR) 71-71, Sergio García (ESP) 68-74, Jonas Blixt (SWE) 72-70, Patrick Reed (USA) 70-72, Tiger Woods (USA) 73-69, Russell Henley (USA) 68-74, Bubba Watson (USA) 71-71
143 - Keegan Bradley (USA) 71-72, Ryan Palmer (USA) 69-74
144 - Zach Johnson (USA) 72-72, Webb Simpson (USA) 69-75, Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 70-74, Geoff Ogilvy (AUS) 74-70
145 - John Senden (AUS) 71-74, Bae Sang-Moon (KOR) 74-71, Erik Compton (USA) 73-72, Hunter Mahan (USA) 75-70, Brooks Koepka (USA) 74-71, Jimmy Walker (USA) 73-72, Morgan Hoffmann (USA) 73-72, Jason Dufner (USA) 74-71, Chris Kirk (USA) 72-73, Rickie Fowler (USA) 73-72, Graeme McDowell (NIR) 71-74, Darren Clarke (NIR) 74-71, Ian Poulter (ENG) 73-72, Thongchai Jaidee (THA) 75-70, Bernd Wiesberger (AUT) 75-70, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 75-70, Jamie Donaldson (WAL) 74-71
146 - Lee Westwood (ENG) 73-73, Matt Kuchar (USA) 72-74, Steve Stricker (USA) 73-73, Cameron Tringale (USA) 71-75, Anirban Lahiri (IND) 71-75, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 73-73
- Missed the cut -
147 - Bernhard Langer (GER) 73-74, Mikko Ilonen (FIN) 74-73, Jim Furyk (USA) 74-73, Matt Every (USA) 73-74, James Hahn (USA) 73-74, Gary Woodland (USA) 71-76, Luke Donald (ENG) 75-72, Stephen Gallacher (SCO) 71-76, Shane Lowry (IRL) 75-72, Brandt Snedeker (USA) 74-73, J.B. Holmes (USA) 76-71
148 - Brian Harman (USA) 76-72, Ben Martin (USA) 74-74, Billy Horschel (USA) 70-78, Camilo Villegas (COL) 72-76, Joost Luiten (NED) 76-72, Branden Grace (RSA) 75-73
149 - Victor Dubuisson (FRA) 74-75, Corey Conners (CAN) 80-69, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 72-77, Ian Woosnam (WAL) 75-74
150 - Sandy Lyle (SCO) 74-76, José María Olazábal (ESP) 79-71, Byron Meth (USA) 74-76
151 - Brendon Todd (USA) 80-71, Kevin Stadler (USA) 77-74, Larry Mize (USA) 78-73, Miguel Ángel Jiménez (ESP) 78-73, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 72-79, Antonio Murdaca (AUS) 78-73, Martin Kaymer (GER) 76-75
152 - Matías Domínguez (CHI) 76-76, Tom Watson (USA) 71-81
153 - Fred Couples (USA) 79-74, Trevor Immelman (RSA) 76-77
156 - Robert Streb (USA) 80-76
157 - Scott Harvey (USA) 76-81, Ben Crane (USA) 79-78, Bradley Neil (SCO) 78-79
159 - Yang Gunn (KOR) 85-74
163 - Mike Weir (CAN) 82-81
176 - Ben Crenshaw (USA) 91-85