Walker Leads But Jordan Spieth Threatens at The Valero

On Friday the wind that tortured the field and the Valero Texas Open in round one was gone and that gave way to more birdies and better scores. When it’s all said and done two Texans will be the story of round two. After a one under 71 on Thursday, Jimmy Walker finds himself leading the tournament after setting the field a blaze with a dazzling 67 on Friday. The FedEx Cup leader already defended his title at the Sony Open earlier this year and has been one of the better players over the past few years. He’s won four times since the start of 2014 but a victory in front of friends and family would be special.

More from Golf News

"“A win anywhere means a lot,” Walker said. “But being at home, you get to have parents, in-laws, friends, best friends, distant family. It would be cool. It doesn’t put anymore pressure on you, I think. If anything you’ve got a nice support crew out there and you’ve got good vibes and good mojo — and I believe in all that stuff. So I think positive energy is good. I think we’ll have a lot of that.”"

Two guys hoping to spoil Walker’s homecoming are Aaron Baddeley and Charley Hoffman who find themselves one shot back. After miraculously shooting five under in awful conditions in round one Hoffman was ordinary to say the least with an even par 72 on Friday. Baddeley on the other hand had plenty of theatrics to go with his one under par 71. Two bogeys and a double were backed up with five birdies, including holing out from 336 yards on the seventeenth hole. It’s not everyday you see a ball go in from that far away and he was surprised too.

"“I just thought I’d just hit it straight and so I hit it and started walking and then heard the crowd going nuts,” Baddeley said. “I was like, wait, I just made birdie.”"

Then we have Jordan Spieth who like Jimmy Walker has represented the Lone Star State just fine. The twenty one year old has already won this year in a dramatic playoff against rival young gun Patrick Reed and he’s now looking for more momentum as Augusta beckons. After a one under round yesterday Spieth was two shots better than that on Friday and now sits two back of Walker. For the two PGA Tour winner Friday was just a better day at the office

"“Greens are still firm but it played completely different today,” Spieth said. “With the wind not blowing much it was very getable. We could of hit some shots close in there today, I had some wedge opportunities, could still play the par fives well, today was definitely a day to shoot a lower score.”"

A week that has already seen Mother Nature unleash her fury on the field and some bizarre club mishaps heads for a potentially exciting weekend. Phil Mickelson, Zach Johnson & Billy Horschel know what it takes to win out here and they sit just four back. With that being said just like many of the weeks before this and the many more to come, I have a feeling this may just be a really good week for Jordan Spieth.

Quotes from PGATour.com

Next: Phil Breaks His 8-Iron

More from Pro Golf Now

Home/Golf News