The Masters: On To the Weekend
Apr 9, 2015; Augusta, GA, USA; Victor Dubuisson hits out of the pine straw on the 7th hole during the first round of The Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports
With Jordan Spieth starting the 2nd round of The Masters Tournament with a 3 shot lead over the field and ending it at 14-under par and a 5 shot distance, has this turned into a contest for the runner-up spot? Spieth, who teed off Thursday looking for redemption from his 2014 defeat by Bubba Watson, seems like he can’t make a mistake. However, Augusta National has a mysterious way of leveling the playing field, and that process often occurs as players make their way through the infamous and fabled Amen Corner. The young Texan will need to do some fancy two-stepping on the back nine over the weekend because the more experienced players in the field are ready to grab a handful of birdies and even a few eagles of their own and close the gap.
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Charley Hoffman, who’s starting the weekend trailing Spieth by 5 shots, is in the best position to take advantage of any misstep on Spieth’s part. But I’m thinking Hoffman may not have the mojo to close on Spieth. His most recent win came last November at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba and his recent finishes — a missed cut at the Valspar Championship and a pair of T11th finishes at the Valero Texas Open and the Shell Houston Open — haven’t been strong.
However, as ProGolfNow’s Sam Adams has pointed out, “Masters Magic” strikes without warning and when it hits, it can produce amazing results. Hoffman navigated the Amen Corner on Friday with a pair of birdies. Spieth will need to be watching his back. Hoffman, who’s 7th in the FedEx Cup rankings, is right behind him.
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Although at this point it’s not looking like either Bubba Watson or Rory McIlroy — they’ve both carded a pair of 71s and are going into the weekend trailing Spieth by a near-insurmountable 12 shots — will be able to challenge the guy from Dallas, that’s not the case with Dustin Johnson and Phil Mickelson.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Johnson turn up the heat on Saturday. He’s been delivering a strong, confident game since returning to competition and he wisely took the week before The Masters off so he’s rested. Spieth’s been playing flat out now for six weeks, since the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and even a 21-year old stud from Texas can only pump so much adrenalin through his system before the well runs dry.
Johnson’s going into the weekend trailing Spieth by 7 shots and those 3 second round eagles are impressing me. Augusta National suits Johnson’s game and he has 36 holes left to close the gap. He just needs to avoid the kinds of mistakes that led to those unnecessary bogeys on Friday.
Phil Mickelson, with his four green jackets, obviously knows how to make his way around the Augusta National track and as unpredictable as his game can be, it’s almost impossible to make any kind of prediction when it comes to Lefty. He’s trailing Spieth by 8 shots.
If Spieth should have even a small meltdown, I can see Spieth and Mickelson passing each other on the leaderboard, and I never count Mickelson out when he’s on the first page of the board going into the weekend.
As The Masters goes into the weekend, then, I can see at least three viable challengers to Jordan Spieth’s lead — Charley Hoffman, Dustin Johnson, and Phil Mickelson. We’re only half-way through this thing. Let’s not give it away just yet.