Spieth remains in Masters hunt

Former Masters Jordan Spieth is seven back of leader Brooks Koepka after a 70 in his second round on Friday.

The 2015 winner is just one player trying to stay calm after Koepka is set a blistering pace for others to chase in the 87th Masters.

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“For me, I was 21 and hadn’t won a major yet,” said Spieth.

“Brooks is 32 and he’s won four. He’s slept on these leads way more often than I had at the time.”

Having shot 70 on Friday to back up a first-round 69, Spieth, at 5-under 139, knew he was seven behind Koepka, the Clubhouse leader when dangerous weather conditions caused play to be suspended for the day.

Various factors have contributed to Spieth’s plight – playing the second nine in 1-over for two days hasn’t helped, for instance, and “I would say I hit some uncharacteristic chips,” he said – but he chose to circle one serious hiccup.

“The one thing I have not done well at all this week is hit greens in regulation, and it’s one of the most important stats out here,” said Spieth, who has hit just 11 greens each round. That was understandable Thursday, given that he hit only eight fairways. But Friday? Spieth drove the ball beautifully, hitting 12 fairways, and still struggled with his iron play at times.

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While Spieth calls attention to his play on the second nine, he knows he’s made one birdie, two pars, and a sloppy double bogey on Nos. 13 and 15 – the par 5s that offer prime scoring chances and are crucial if you want to win. Koepka is 2-under on those same holes.

Nor was he saying that the seven-stroke deficit is unsurmountable. “In some cases, you could argue that’s a good thing to have a big lead,” Spieth said, “but in other cases you could argue if (Koepka) kind of falters a little and you kind of are able to shoot an under-par round somehow, you could make up a lot of strokes easily.”

Spieth has clearly been on his game each day going out on the first nine. Having gone out in 32 on the first nine Thursday, Spieth played those holes in 34 Friday so nothing wrong with being 6-under there. Disappointing is the 1-over total on the second nine.

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“It’s been a couple of mental errors more than anything else,” said Spieth, pointing to a water ball at No. 13 Thursday and a drive left at 15 that precluded him from trying to reach in two Friday and a poor third shot. “If I clean those up, my game is in as good a spot as it’s been in quite a while.”

Spieth paused, as if to let reality settle in, then added, “But seven shots is a lot to overcome.”

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