No back 9 meltdown this time for Spieth
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hallelujah and pass the pimento cheese sandwiches. Jordan Spieth got through the back nine at Augusta National on Friday without suffering a quadruple bogey. In fact, Spieth rode a hot putter and posted three birdies over the final six holes to complete a 3-under 69 that levels him at even par for the tournament heading into Saturday’s third round of the 81st Masters.
“It was a really good day today at Augusta National,” Spieth said. “I’m very pleased with the second round of this Masters, and we’re in a position now where we can go out there and win this thing and certainly make a run.”
Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, lost a chance at winning the 2016 Masters when he hit two balls in the water during the final round at the par-3 12th, taking a quadruple-bogey seven. His opening round Thursday was marred when he took a quadruple-bogey nine at the par-5 15th.
Spieth not only avoided another disaster on the second nine Friday, but went bogey-free to make the most of his three birdies. A tricky downhill birdie putt from 20-feet at the par-3 16th and another 22-footer on the 18th green had the 2015 Masters champion pumping his fist as he walked off the course.
“Those last couple putts, I had confidence in them,” Spieth said. “I put really nice strokes on them, and I finally got them to go. It took a while today. I hit all nine greens on the back nine and had three birdies and one of them was a 2-putt.”
Spieth is four shots off the lead of 4-under shared by Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters and Rickie Fowler. Spieth is tied for 10th along with Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson. No rain and little wind are forecast for the weekend.
“I think these greens are going to bake out,” Spieth said. “You’re going to see putting become a lot more diff icult than it was even though it was windy. I think the actual putts you have are going to be more challenging because the greens are going to be a foot faster, and they’re going to get a bit crusty around some of the hole locations.”