Patrick Reed's nine-birdie day pushes him to top of Masters leaderboard

As Jordan Spieth stepped aside, Patrick Reed kept the Texas theme going Friday in the 82nd Masters Tournament.

First-round leader Spieth, who is from Dallas, fell from the top of the leaderboard after a double bogey-bogey start as Reed zoomed past everyone with a blistering 6-under-par 66 at Augusta National Golf Club.

Reed, who was born in San Antonio and now lives in Spring, Texas, has a two-shot lead over Australia’s Marc Leishman (67 on Friday) and is four in front of Sweden’s Henrik Stenson (70) at the halfway mark of the year’s first major championship.

Reed, 27, and Leishman, 34, are looking for their first major. Stenson, 42, won the 2016 British Open.

“Everyone wants to win, and if you don’t believe you can win them, then you probably shouldn’t be playing in them,” Reed said of major championships. “I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, that I can win majors.”

PHOTOS: Second round at the Masters Tournament

In addition to his Texas background, Reed also has a local connection; he led Augusta University to NCAA Division I golf titles in 2010 and 2011, going unbeaten in match play. He played a handful of rounds with members at Augusta National during his time with the Jaguars.

Reed, who opened with 69, is the only player in the field to shoot in the 60s for both rounds and is at 9-under 135 through 36 holes. No one in Masters history has shot in the 60s all four rounds.

With Spieth shooting 74, up stepped Reed, who proclaimed himself a top-five player in the world when he won  the Wyndham Championship in 2013 for the first of his five PGA Tour wins.

Reed, who is ranked 24th but hasn’t won since The Barclays in August 2016, has been the best player so far this week at Augusta National. He’s  missed only 12 greens through 36 holes and is tied for the lead in fewest putts with 51.

Reed is 8-under on the par-5s, making birdie on every one he's played. No one else has more than five birdies on the par-5s.

PHOTOS: Reed's Round 2

“The par-5s are huge around here to be able to pick up ground on,” he said. “It’s just one of those things that you kind of have to do it around here because you’re not going to shoot a low score if you don’t.”

Reed is also one of the hottest players in the field who hasn't won this season. He has finished in the top 10 of his past three starts, including a tie for second place in the Valspar Championship.

He trailed here by three to start the day but birdied his first three holes and added six more to offset three bogeys.

“It’s a great score,” Leishman said of Reed’s 66. “The greens were getting quite quick, really firm.”

Leishman, who also started the day with three consecutive birdies and eagled the par-5 15th hole, had what he called a stress-free round. He will be in the final pairing today with Reed, scheduled to go off at 2:30 p.m.

“I’ve played a little bit with him,” Leishman said of Reed. “We’ve got the same trainer. He’s a great player. I expect him to keep doing what he’s been doing. Hopefully, I can keep doing what I’ve been doing and give him a run for his money.”

Leishman and Reed took advantage of their late starting time as the wind died down in the afternoon. They won’t have such favorable conditions today. The forecast calls for scattered showers in the morning and thunderstorms in the afternoon, especially after 2 p.m. The biggest problem will be the wind, with gusts expected up to 20 mph.

PHOTOS: Leishman's Friday Round

“It (the wind) just gives a different dimension to the trickiness (of the course), having difficult conditions out there,” Stenson said, later adding, "  When you’ve got gusty strong winds, that’s not going to make it any easier to get it there.”

Reed is ready for whatever the weather brings today.

“I am from Texas,” he said. “It blows 40 and rains every day it seems like. I’d say I like it when it’s challenging."

Spieth, the 2015 Masters champion, went from making seven birdies and an eagle against three bogeys in Thursday’s 66 to two birdies, two bogeys and two double bogeys Friday. His birdies came on the back nine par-5s, allowing him to shoot 34. The biggest difference in the two rounds came on the greens. He needed 33 putts on Friday, compared with 24 on Thursday.

“It was a good comeback on the back nine,” Spieth said.

PHOTOS: Spieth's Second Round at Augusta

Meanwhile, the defending champion missed the cut, which fell at 5-over 149, for the second consecutive year. Sergio Garcia made an early exit, a year after Danny Willett failed to make the weekend in 2017. Garcia shot 81-78 with a 13 on the 15th hole Thursday, but will be here to put the green jacket on Sunday’s winner.

Other prominent players to miss the cut were  2011 Masters champ Charl Schwartzel (72-78-150), Augusta’s Wesley Bryan (74-78-152) and Sweden’s Alex Noren (74-79-153), who is ranked 15th in the world.