The final pairing for a weekend at the Masters is what everyone wanted — Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, winners at four of the past six majors.
Just nobody expected this kind of an Augusta National.
In the toughest scoring conditions at the Masters in nearly a decade, Spieth had a five-shot lead that nearly disappeared before he saved par from a bunker with a 15-foot putt on the final hole for a two-over 74 and a one-shot lead over McIlroy.
Photo: AFP
“It was very tough to stay cool,” Spieth said. “You could say: ‘Looked like you got emotional out there.’ I mean, you guys try it. That was a hard golf course.”
McIlroy, who trailed by as much as eight shots at one point, put a career Grand Slam in clear view by making birdie on both par-fives on the back nine and picking up a bonus birdie with a 40-foot putt on the par-three 16th for a 71.
That matched the lowest round of the day, the first time since 2007 that no one broke 70 at the Masters.
“You just have to look at the scores and you can see how tough it is today,” McIlroy said.
Spieth set a Masters record with his sixth straight round in the lead and it took a few minutes for him to appreciate that after trying to survive gusts that reached 48kph and a golf course so crusty that even two-foot putts made him nervous.
He was at four-under 140, the highest 36-hole score to lead at Augusta since 2007. The scoring average was 75.02, also the highest in nine years.
“I’m still in the lead. I couldn’t ask for much better than leading,” Spieth said.
Kiwi Danny Lee bogeyed his last two holes for a 72 and was two shots behind the leader along with Scott Piercy (72). The only other players who remained under par were Hideki Matsuyama (72), Brandt Snedeker (72) and Soren Kjeldsen (74).
Dustin Johnson birdied all the par fives for a 71 and was in a group at even-par that included US Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau, who felt the sting of Augusta on the final hole. DeChambeau was playing the best round of the day at three-under and just one shot off the lead, but he hooked his tee shot into the trees and had to return to the tee, hooked the next one and made triple-bogey for a 72.
Still in the mix was Jason Day, the No. 1 player who sputtered along to a 73, but was only five shots behind.
“It almost feels like a US Open where you need to survive,” Day said. “And I’m trying my best to survive right now.”
Spieth finished a round over-par at Augusta for the first time in his three Masters appearances. Coming off his wire-to-wire victory last year, that par save on the 18th allowed him to set a record for consecutive rounds in the lead. Arnold Palmer was atop the leaderboard for six straight rounds in 1960 and the opening two rounds in 1961, though he shared the lead in those last two rounds.
Despite his lead, it was hard to get past Spieth’s mistakes — a four-putt double-bogey on No. 5, a three-putt bogey on No. 16 and another bogey on the 17th hole.
“I was at eight-under and you finish at four. That’s kind of tough,” Spieth said. “I felt like I played better than four-over from the fourth hole on.”
Spieth’s par on the last hole not only kept him in the lead, it sent Phil Mickelson home for the weekend because of the 10-shot rule.
Mickelson shot a career-high 79 and finished at seven-over to miss the cut.
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