Jordan Spieth-less, can’t believe he’s up

AUGUSTA, Georgia – On Thursday, when Jordan Spieth shot a 64 and nearly set the record for the lowest 18-hole score at the Masters, the soft-spoken Spieth conceded he might have taken advantage of favorable conditions and a few lucky breaks.

A drive about to disappear in the woods hit a branch and reappeared in the middle of the fairway. A wayward putt suddenly changed course and veered into the hole. A blind rescue shot from the rough hit the flagstick and ended up 2 feet from the hole.

And the greens were soft – although that was true for everyone in the field.

On Friday, Spieth shot a 66, a round that no golfer bettered. That gave him a two-day total of 14-under-par 130, the lowest 36-hole score in the history of the Masters, 1 stroke better than the mark set by Raymond Floyd in 1976. Spieth’s score also tied the lowest two-round total in a major championship.

What excuse would Spieth use for such sterling play this time?

“It was less windy today,” he said in all seriousness.

It is safe to say that the leader at the halfway point of the 79th Masters has not let his record-setting dominance go to his head. Even after 15 birdies in two days – the four-round record in the tournament is 25 – Spieth will barely concede that he is playing well.

Spieth was the 54-hole leader a year ago and finished tied for second. But that was when he was only 20 and playing in his first Masters. He is a seasoned veteran now, and he speaks like one.

“The last couple days, it doesn’t mean anything unless I can close it out,” he said. “I don’t want this to go in as the 36-hole record but as somebody who didn’t win.”

Spieth is having fun despite the professional stoicism.

“It’s cool,” he said of the record. “Any time you can set a record here, it’s pretty awesome. I struck the ball better than yesterday, so I didn’t rely on the breaks as much.” All right, enough of the excuses. Spieth’s second-round lead is considerable – 5 strokes over Charley Hoffman, who is playing in his second Masters. Three accomplished contenders – Justin Rose, Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey – are lurking, but they are 7 strokes behind, at 7-under. The heavyweights Phil Mickelson and Ernie Els will hope for Spieth to come back to them, but Mickelson is 8 strokes back, and Els trails by 9.

For the near-miracle-minded, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Sergio García are among those tied for 19th at 2-under.

But Spieth knows to expect something other than a coronation ceremony over the weekend. The field will not just let him roll to an easy victory, and Augusta National Golf Club tests every leader’s mettle at some point regardless of the lead.

Spieth learned as much last year and vowed he would not be tricked by early success again.

“What I learned last year is that the weekend of a major, those rounds can often seem like two rounds in one day,” he said. “It’s all the kinds of mental stuff that’s running through your head – the overall stress level.

“The hardest thing to do is put aside wanting to win so bad, and just kind of let yourself go through the motion – letting the ball-striking and putting happen. I have to be very patient and understand that this weekend is going to feel like a whole other tournament.”

Spieth’s two-round total of 130 tied him with Nick Faldo (1992 British Open), Brandt Snedeker (2012 British Open) and Martin Kaymer (2014 US Open) for the lowest 36-hole total in any major championship.

But Spieth could threaten a hallowed Masters mark – Tiger Woods’ record four-round score of 270, or 18 under par. With 15 birdies already, Spieth is also on a pace to shatter the record for birdies in one Masters. Phil Mickelson set that mark in 2001, with 25.

Spieth, who teed off among the first groups Friday, had matching nine-hole scores of 33, with six birdies and no bogeys. With a birdie on the second hole, Spieth quickly picked up where he left off Thursday. He then sank an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 fifth hole. Spieth, who has attacked the par 5s with aggressive precision, made an easy birdie on the par-5 eighth hole, then rolled in a 10-foot uphill birdie putt on the par-4 10th.

Moreover, Spieth had steely confidence when standing over testy little par putts where a miss could have ruined his momentum. Spieth made a 4-foot par putt on the first hole, a 6-foot par putt on the third and a 3-footer on the fourth. Each was an important save and the closest he came to making a bogey.