Longhorns' Spieth Moves Within Two Shots of Masters Lead After 36 Holes

Jordan Spieth put himself in position to have a great weekend at the Masters, firing a 4-under 68 in Friday's second round

Texas Longhorns-ex Jordan Spieth ended the second round of the Masters with a 4-under 68, putting him two shots behind leader Justin Rose and firmly in contention going into Saturday’s third round.

Spieth, seeking his second green jacket, had five birdies and a bogey during his second round, moving him to 5-under for the tournament.

Rose, meanwhile, couldn’t build on his lead after firing a 7-under 65 on Thursday. Rose struggled, falling three shots off his own pace in the morning before finally rallying on the back nine to shoot an even-par 72.

Spieth’s ultimately cut four shots into Rose’s lead, in part due to a tremendous back nine in which he birdied four holes, including three of his final six.

He started the back nine with a birdie on No. 10, which included a perfect drive to the right edge of the fairway, along with a 205-yard approach shot to within seven feet of the pin. Spieth drained that birdie to move himself to 3-under for the event.

Two holes later, at No. 12, he had his only mishap of the day. At the par-3, which bedeviled him for a quadruple bogey in the final round of the 2016 Masters, his tee shot ended up in the front bunker. Spieth rolled his bunker shot to six feet from the cup, but his par-saving putt burned the right edge of the cup and left him with bogey.

READ MORE: Longhorn Scheffler Finishes 2nd Round Safely Under Cut Line 1-Over Par

He bounced back immediately on the par-5 13th hole, though his tee shot found the trees on the right side. Spieth deftly escaped with a 236-yard punch shot to within 35 yards of the green, just in front of the creek that guards the green. His pitch checked up seven feet past the pin, and he gently guided it to the cup to move back to 3-under.

Two holes later, at No. 15, Spieth hit his tee shot to within 220 yards of the pin and then put his approach shot just past the green. He put together a beautiful downhill lag putt out of the fringe, sending the putt to within two feet of the cup for an easy tap-in birdie.

He then played a perfect drive No. 17, putting his 292-yard drive down the right-hand side to set up his second shot perfectly. But his 158-yard approach wasn’t to his liking, as he ended up 30 feet from the cup, but still putting for birdie.

But Spieth handled the tricky break perfectly, sending the putt home for a birdie and moving him to 5-under for the event.

READ MORE: Longhorns at the Masters Tracker

Spieth started the round with a birdie at No. 2, after putting his second shot into the front bunker on the 575-yard par-5. From the back of the bunker, Spieth handled a treacherous downhill bunker shot perfectly, rolling the pitch to within six feet and followed that by rolling in a birdie to move to 2-under.

Spieth entered the Masters as one of the favorites after he won the Texas Open last Sunday. Before that, Spieth had been on a two-month run with Top 5 finishes at three other events, along with a run to the round of 16 at the WGC-Dell Match Play at Austin Country Club.

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CONTINUE READING: Jack Nicklaus Reveals Joy For Longhorns Ex Spieth After Win

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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.