Four holes into Friday’s second round, Jordan Spieth knew he was in danger of missing the cut.
Spieth bounced back from an even-par opening round with a seven-under 64 to give himself a chance to contend at the John Deere Classic.
However, 21-year-old Spieth still has a lot of work to do to catch the leaders.
Photo: AFP
He was five shots behind Justin Thomas, who led with a 12-under 130 total. Johnson Wagner was a shot back after shooting a second-round 63, as was Tom Gillis after shooting a 65.
Spieth said he knew he needed to shoot at least a 67 on Friday. He did better than that.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a course that yields a lot of birdies. It’s still hard to do on the PGA Tour. I wasn’t taking it for granted. I was still searching,” said Spieth, who will try for his third straight major title next week at St Andrews.
Spieth, who started on the back nine, stuck his approach on the par-four 14th hole within 3 feet (0.9m). He then hit putts of 24 and 16 feet (7.3m and 4.9m) to get to three-under.
The best hole of the tournament for Spieth came on No. 2. A 319 yard (291.7m) drive and a 241 yard (220m) approach left him with a 4 foot (1.2m) eagle putt.
Spieth needed just 25 putts on Friday. This week is playing out similarly to his first tournament after winning the Masters. After opening the RBC Heritage in late April with a 74, Spieth shot a 62 in the second round.
Thomas, 22, has had something of a rivalry with Spieth for years.
They were two of the best college golfers in the country while Thomas was at Alabama and Spieth was at Texas — although Spieth has clearly outpaced Thomas in the professional ranks.
However, it was Thomas who was heading into the weekend with the advantage.
Thomas opened play with a tournament-best 63 and followed it up with a solid 67. Thomas had five more birdies on Friday, putting himself in position for his first career win after losing the lead at last week’s Greenbrier Classic.
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