Jordan Spieth continues march toward Masters history

It’s beginning to look a lot like 1997 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Jordan Spieth showed no signs of letting up in Friday’s second round of the 79th Masters Tourna­ment, widening his lead to five shots, breaking the 36-hole scoring record and setting himself up for a weekend finish where Tiger Woods’ tournament scoring record could tumble.

As Spieth was marching toward a possible green jacket, two-time champion and fellow Texan Ben Crenshaw was exiting. Crenshaw missed the cut and is retiring from the tournament after 44 consecutive starts. He is the last Texan to win the Masters – 20 years ago.

Spieth, 21, shot a bogey-free 6-under-par 66 on Friday. Coupled with his opening 64, Spieth’s 14-under 130 total broke by one shot the 36-hole scoring record Raymond Floyd set in 1976. Floyd would go on to win by eight shots.

“That’s really cool,” Spieth said. “Any time you can set a record here, that’s pretty awesome.”

Woods’ 72-hole record is 18-under 270 in 1997, when he won by a record 12 shots. To beat that, Spieth would have to shoot 5-under on the weekend.

Charley Hoffman, a three-time PGA Tour winner ranked 63rd in the world, had a bogey-free round going Friday before losing a shot to par on the 18th hole. He finished with 68 to sit alone in second at 9-under.

Spieth, who is ranked No. 4 in the world and tied for second in his Masters debut last year, isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“This is only the halfway point. I’m aware of that,” he said. “I feel comfortable this year. I haven’t felt very nervous. I’ve felt in a good place. I’m acting like nothing’s going on and getting ready for tomorrow.

“I still need to not be focused on anybody else, no scoreboard watching, set a goal and understand that the course is going to be harder and (not) have that affect my goal going in, and then just try to strike the ball the same way I have.”

Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, added: “Certainly, we didn’t think we’d be 14-under Wednes­day night. It’s a good first half. You don’t play two rounds to win. It’s a good start.”

Next up is a shot at the 54-hole scoring record of 15-under 201, shot by Floyd in 1976 and matched by Woods in 1997. Spieth can break that today with 70 or better.

Spieth and Hoffman will tee off at 2:55 p.m. today in the final pairing. The field was trimmed to 55 players after the cut, which fell at 2-over-par 146.

Spieth and Hoffman are two of only three players to shoot in the 60s in the first two rounds, separating them from the field.

Dustin Johnson and English­men Justin Rose and Paul Casey are seven shots behind Spieth. Johnson, who set a Masters record by making three eagles (all on par-5s) Friday, shot 67, and Casey had 68 and Rose 70.

Hoffman’s only previous Mas­ters appearance before this year came in 2011, when he tied for 27th.

“Jordan obviously is a few ahead. I’m not going to be able to catch him in two holes, so I got to keep doing what I’m doing, hitting fairways and giving myself opportunities for birdie, and then we’ll see what we got on the back nine to maybe change the game plan a little bit on Sunday,” Hoffman said.

Through two rounds, Spieth has hit 28 of 36 greens in regulation, found 20 of 28 fairways and had 25 putts each round. He also has just one bogey (on No. 15 on Thursday) to go with 15 birdies.

“I’ve just got to keep my head down and find greens in regulation so that I can continue to have looks (at birdies),” said Spieth, who hasn’t had a three-putt.
Here’s how hot Spieth has been since the first round of the Valspar Champion­ship on March 15. Counting Friday’s 66, he’s 47-under par for those 14 rounds, during which he hasn’t shot worse than 71. He won the Valspar, took a week off, then finished second and lost in a playoff in the two tournaments before the Masters.

“It’s just kind of business as usual for him,” said past U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who is 14 behind Spieth. “It’s every single week he seems to be on top of the leaderboard playing well. It’s not that easy out there. It’s getting blustery, and he’s obviously aware of his skills at the moment and he’s loving it.”

In November, Spieth won the Aus­tralian Open by six shots, shooting a final-round 63. In early December, he won the unofficial Hero World Chal­lenge at Isleworth by three shots, shooting 66-67-63-66 for a 26-under total.

“He played better than this at Isle­worth,” Greller said. “He was hitting on all cylinders. It feels somewhat comparable to that.”

Rory McIlroy, 25, who can complete the career Grand Slam with a victory this week, is 12 shots behind Spieth. He has shot a pair of 71s and is at 142.

Woods, who is playing for the first time in nine weeks, is also at 142. He has shot 73-69.