Jordan Spieth finds his Augusta magic in time to make cut

Jordan Spieth arrived at his favorite golf course to start his Masters Tournament at mid-afternoon Friday.

Never mind that this tournament officially began Thursday. He just waited a while to start his serious bid for a second green jacket and a fourth major championship.

Spieth's Masters might have started in earnest around the ninth hole of his second round, a hole he birdied with a tricky 25-footer over a large swale. That shot helped bury a mediocre round of 75 the day before and triggered a string of four birdies in six holes that fueled a charge for an impressive round of 4-under-par 68.

“I’m just trying to progress,” said Spieth, who sits at 1-under. “I don’t feel I’ve played my best golf yet.”

PHOTOS: Second round at the Masters

He’ll have to if he hopes to leapfrog a host of other contenders and put pressure on the leaders. 

Despite opening with a disastrous round that matched his worst ever at Augusta and battling a funk that hasn’t allowed him to win since the 2017 British Open, Spieth remains undaunted. Relieved he finally scored well, but also undaunted because he’s won this tournament once and has four top-four finishes.

“I feel good about today’s round,” he said. “As far as this tournament, I’m six back. If I can somehow cut it to three by Sunday, then I feel like I have a legitimate chance.”

And why not?

Didn’t he start his final round last year nine strokes behind eventual champion Patrick Reed, only to fire a spectacular 64 to tie his best round at Augusta National and briefly hold the lead? 

Spieth hasn’t played anywhere near the caliber of golf that helped him win three majors. He admits he didn’t drive the ball or putt it well Thursday, but he corrected some issues Friday. He played with a cracked driver face most of the day and still birdied Nos. 9, 10, 13 and 14. 

“Tee to green, I only hit five or six greens in regulation yesterday,” Spieth said. “I haven’t looked at it, but 14 or 15 today (It was officially 13]. So my pars were more stress-free, and I was able to have a lot more looks at birdie. Overall, my putting performance still hasn’t been quite as good as it’s been in previous weeks, but I know how it can. The hole can look kind of big out there sometimes and hoping for that on the weekend.” 

After he bogeyed his first hole Friday, the thought of actually missing the 36-hole cut for the first time in his six Masters starts crossed his mind. He incorrectly calculated it at the low 60 golfers and anyone within 10 shots of the leaders.

It wasn’t until he was well beyond Amen Corner when his caddie, Michael Greller, informed it was the low 50, not 60.

“And I’m like, well, good thing I probably didn’t know that,” Spieth mused.