Jordan Spieth completed the greatest 36-hole start in Masters history, firing a six-under par 66 at Augusta National that matched him for the lowest halfway total in any major.
The 21-year-old American stood on 14-under 130 after two rounds, a bogey-free Friday giving Spieth a Masters midpoint record-matching five-stroke lead over compatriot Charley Hoffman.
“Any time you can set a record here is pretty awesome,” Spieth said. “I’m really excited about how I played.”
Fourth-ranked Spieth broke the Masters 36-hole low of 13-under 131 set by Ray Floyd in 1976 and nearly broke the low two-round major start of 130. “Didn’t know what any of these scores meant in history or anything like that,” Spieth said. “I just knew I had a good look at birdie and had a good read on it, and it was just barely off.”
Spieth, seeking his first major title after a runner-up Masters debut last year, shared the biggest 36-hole lead mark with Floyd in 1976, Jack Nicklaus in 1975 and Herman Keiser in 1946, after Hoffman closed a round of 68 with his lone bogey.
World number one Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, a 14-time major champion back after a two-month layoff to work on his game, were on 142, sharing 19th and 12 adrift.
“I’m very proud of what I’ve done, to be able to dig it out the way I have,” Woods said after shooting 69.
Woods, 39, has not won a Masters since 2005, has not won a major since the 2008 US Open and has not won any title since the 2013 WGC at Firestone. McIlroy, 25, was expected to battle for a third major win in a row that would complete his career Grand Slam, but he flirted with the cut line before a five-under back nine put him on 71. “I’m really proud of myself the way I fought back,” McIlroy said.
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