The Province

Spieth is back on familiar turf

Once 10 shots back, the 2015 Masters champion is in hunt for another green jacket

- Scott Stinson sstinson@postmedia.com

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The last person to win a major championsh­ip after trailing by at least 10 shots after the first round was Harry Vardon. In 1898, back when he steered it around with mashies and niblicks and jiggers.

But Jordan Spieth, minus the mashie, is giving it a pretty good run.

The 23-year-old Texan, who shot 75 to open the Masters — including an ugly nine on the 15th hole — followed his 69 Friday with a smooth 68 Saturday to play himself to almost the very top of the leaderboar­d.

Spieth’s five-birdie, one-bogey round left him at 4 under for the tournament. He’s two shots off the lead held jointly by Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose.

The players ahead of Spieth on the leaderboar­d are all-stars in their own right, but none of them could feel any better than him on this course at this moment. Spieth’s in the middle of his fourth straight Masters in which he played Sunday in one of the final two groups and his cumulative score over that stretch is more than a dozen shots lower than anyone else in the field — despite the first-round quadruple-bogey this year and his fourthroun­d quad meltdown on the 12th last year. Absent those two big numbers, Spieth would be in great shape for a charge toward his third straight green jacket.

Spieth said his Masters tournament so far has been representa­tive of his year: “It’s been slow starts and just grind it out.”

He pronounced himself “extremely pleased” with Saturday’s result, which included a birdie four at the par-5 13th hole that came after he ripped a 228-yard second-shot fouriron over Rae’s Creek and almost made the eagle putt. Spieth could be heard asking caddy Michael Greller, who suggested a layup, “What would Arnie do?” This is the first Masters since Arnold Palmer’s death last fall and his legacy of the gambling showman has been often discussed this week.

Spieth said although he has made birdies on 13 by laying up, he had good memories of the favourite shot of his career, a second shot to the green on the 13th in the final round of his 2015 Masters win, and he tried to repeat it on Saturday. “And so there’s good vibes. I just, you know, ‘What would Arnie do?’ was my way of expressing it to Michael,” he said.

“We needed those birdies and we’ll need them tomorrow.”

He probably will need them tomorrow. Rose started with an even-par front nine on Saturday, but closed with five birdies over his last seven holes to race up the leaderboar­d and finish at 6 under after a 67. “It was a very solid round and then obviously finishing birdie, birdie, just kind of put the cherry on top of what was a good day,” said Rose, the 36-year-old Englishman who won the U.S. Open in 2013.

And Garcia managed to finally hold his Saturday at Augusta demons at bay with a decent round of 70 for a 6-under total. The 37-year-old Spaniard began his round as the worst Saturday player at Augusta over the past two decades, where he has averaged 75 depressing shots per round. He even got a fortunate break — yes, Garcia had that happen in a major — when his second shot on 13 dipped into the hazard, but stayed up on the shaved bank above the creek. Garcia made a chip and a putt for a birdie. He made another on 15 and closed with a nervy par-saving putt on 18 — just the sort of seven-foot putt that has plagued Garcia over his career.

“I’m glad I took the (Saturday) scoring average down a little bit,” Garcia said. “That’s a big positive.”

“But Saturday’s gone and now Sunday’s coming. A very exciting Sunday. So, you know, we are going to go out there and do well again. And, you know, just make sure we have a good chance coming into the last five or six holes and see what happens.”

Charley Hoffman, who began the day as part of a four-way tie for the lead at 4 under, spent much of it alone at the top of the leaderboar­d before putting his tee shot in the water at the par-3 16th hole. The ensuing double bogey dropped him out of the lead and he finished his round at 4 under.

Rickie Fowler, another of the Round 2 co-leaders, shot 71 to sit at 5 under and will play in the second-last group with Spieth. Thomas Pieters, also tied for the lead at the start, shot 75 to drop into a tie for ninth at 1 under.

 ?? — GETTY IMAGES ?? Jordan Spieth plays a shot on his nemesis — the 12th hole — during the third round of the Masters Saturday in Augusta.
— GETTY IMAGES Jordan Spieth plays a shot on his nemesis — the 12th hole — during the third round of the Masters Saturday in Augusta.

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