One round away from another green jacket, Jordan Spieth couldn’t help but look back.
Advertisement
It was all in sharp contrast to previous year, when Spieth produced a fine finish at 18 on the Saturday to open up a four-stroke advantage over the field. That’s when a wind gust blew his ball to the wrong side of the undulated green and he four-putted from 49 feet for double bogey, missing a 4-footer for bogey. Rory McIlroy was out of the picture.
Sure, he had the lead for the seventh straight round at Augusta National, but just barely.
A lead that had grown as large as four shots dwindled to one. That left him at 10-over 226 for the tournament and on pace for his worst performance in eight Master appearances. “It was tough to stay cool”. “So it’s tough to swallow that”.
Only a bogey five on the final hole prevented Langer from being tied for second and the chance to play with the leader in the final pairing.
His closest rival is 24-year-old fellow American Smylie Kaufman, who produced a best-of-the-day 69 for two-under 214.
McIlroy set the clubhouse target on a windswept second day of the Masters, as Spieth – with a two over par 74 – battled to maintain his lead and his composure. “And I’m going to have to do that again tomorrow because it’s going to be windy out there again”.
That’s what gnawed at Spieth.
Spieth said the heavily-contoured greens at Augusta National had become lightning fast late in Friday’s second round with putts from just two feet requiring extra care.
The defending champion remains the favourite to romp to glory over the weekend, although he conceded there are still several players in with a chance-per Sky Sports’ Sam Drury: “I think the person who walks the tallest is going to end up winning these next couple of days”.
On Sunday, he tees off in the final group of the real Masters – one shot behind Spieth. He chipped in on the first hole, became one of six men all week to birdie No. 11 and was one stroke behind Spieth when he fell off a cliff on 18.
Langer is one of three 50-somethings who made the cut, joining 57-year-old Larry Mize and 51-year-old Davis Love III.
“He’s probably 1,000-0. He’s always beating me”, Kaufman said.
“I hit well all day and I learned I could play at the highest level”. But whoever comes up short will be leaving Augusta National with a heck of a consolation prize. One.
If he wins, Spieth will have collected three majors before turning 23. Playing alongside Day – and usually playing from some 60 yards behind him – Langer plodded his way around in the wind and ran off three birdies for a 70.
Langer is a two-time victor of the Masters in 1985 and 1993. The champion in 2012 and 2014, Watson, logically, should have won in 2016, right?
“Tiger and I both won young, and he may span 25 years (in his career) himself”, Nicklaus said at the Masters.
But that was nothing compared to the horrors that beset four-time major victor Ernie Els, who had an astonishing nine at the par-4 first hole, virtually wrecking his tournament in the space of a few minutes. He still was only two shots behind. She gave birth last week.
McIlroy has outscored Spieth eight times out of the 12 they have played together, but admits he needs to ignore who he is playing with and the significance of what he is trying to achieve.
However, with gusting winds making scoring hard for the second day running, the 57-year-old then bogeyed the next four holes and dropped another shot on the ninth to reach the turn in 38.
Spieth’s par on the last hole not only kept him in the lead, it sent Phil Mickelson home because of the 10-shot rule for the cut.
Advertisement
And three holes later, it was gone.
