Spieth back in familiar spot at Masters: the lead
AUGUSTA, Ga. — No other golf course makes him more comfortable. Even more familiar than a sharp short game was his name atop the leader board at the Masters.
Jordan Spieth appears to be back on his game. Tiger Woods? He has some catching up to do.
Spieth took only 10 putts on the back nine at Augusta National on Thursday, and had a run of five straight birdies. The last one was from tap-in range after another superb pitch, from the left gallery to escape with bogey for a 6-under-par 66 and a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar and Tony Finau.
It was the eighth time in his last 13 rounds at the Masters that Spieth ended a round with the lead.
“I know as well as anybody that anything can happen at Augusta National,” Spieth said, a reference to the lead TV: Today, 3 to 7:30 p.m., ESPN; Saturday, 3 to 7 p.m., CBS (Ch. 10); Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m., CBS (Ch. 10)
he lost on the back nine in 2016 that kept him from winning consecutive green jackets. “It’s about riding momentum from last week and this round.”
Woods, the main attraction in his first time back at the Masters since 2015, had a few bright moments and endless ovations in his round of 73. He thought he played better than he scored. He also knows it could have been worse, especially after dumping a 9-iron into Rae’s Creek on the par-3 12th hole and having to make a 15-foot putt for bogey and avoid falling to 4 over par.
Most aggravating was playing the par-5s without a birdie.
“Seventy-three is fine,” Woods said. “By the end of the week, this will be a pretty packed leader board the way the golf course is set up. They have it right where they want it. It’s really hard to run away from it, but it’s also really easy to lose it out there.”
Spieth nearly managed to pull away when he began the back nine with three tough par saves, ran off five straight birdies and overcame a wild drive left into the trees that left him some 250 yards for his third shot.
The best comeback? That might belong to Finau.
On the eve of his first Masters, he made a hole-in-one on the seventh hole of the par-3 competition, raced toward the green to celebrate and, as he turned back toward the tee, rolled his left ankle. Finau went down, the ankle contorted, and he popped it into place. He wasn’t sure he could play until medical tests showed that he could.
And he played great, opening with a 4-under 68 despite a short par putt that he missed on the 14th hole.
“This is a moment I’ve dreamed of my whole life,” Finau said.
Woods might be right about one thing. Even as strong as Spieth looked, it might be hard for anyone to pull away. Spieth was among 10 players who broke 70 — a list that included Rory McIlroy — on a warm, sunny day with a moderate breeze that looked ideal for scoring.
It was just tough to score, with the greens slick and firm and several tough pin positions, mainly toward the front of the greens. That included the par-5 15th, and no one suffered there quite like defending champion Sergio Garcia.
He hit his second shot into the water, and then had his next four shots with a wedge roll back into the water. He made a 10-foot putt — close to the same length of his eagle putt when he won last year — to make a 13, the highest score ever recorded on No. 15. He wound up with an 81, the highest score in the opening round by a defending Masters champion.
“It’s the first time in my career where I make a 13 without missing a shot,” Garcia said. “Simple as that.”