The chatter
While Jordan Spieth stole the spotlight, Kevin Na and Dustin Johnson made some magic of their own.
Na at least matched Spieth’s 66 on Friday and made the cut. He explained his round.
Q: Any especially long putts or special shots on any of the birdies on 2, 3, 5, 8, 9?
Na: All short.
Q: 16?
Na: All short.
Q: Just tap-ins?
Na: No, they were somewhere within 10 feet. I hit a lot of shots close. The putt on 16 it was, oh, I would say it was close to 10 feet, and I probably hit it about 2 feet and it rolled all the way to the hole and you could just see the Titleist (logo) going over and over. I had no doubt it was going to get there, that's how quick of a putt it was.
Johnson had the kind of day to brag about between holes Nos. 2 and 17.
Playing late in the day, he posted eagles at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 (he gets crystal for each one) and also made a birdie at No. 13, the other par 5. Except for a double bogey at No. 1 after a perfect drive and a bogey at No. 18 after a wayward drive, he could have matched the low round of the day. He settled for a 67. He is the first player in the 79 years of the event with three eagles in the same Masters round.
Q: What do you do with all the crystal goblets you get?
Johnson: I put them in my office.
Q: How many do you have now?
Johnson: After today, I think that's seven eagles I've made here.
By the numbers
130 The Masters' 36-hole lowest score, set Friday by Jordan Spieth, breaking the previous record by Raymond Floyd (65-66) in his wire-to-wire 1976 victory. Spieth will attempt to become the fifth wire-to-wire winner: Craig Wood, 1941; Arnold Palmer, 1960; Jack Nicklaus, 1962, and Floyd.
64 Majors played by Sergio Garcia without a victory. Garcia shot a 68 in the first round then nearly blew himself out of the tournament with a front-nine 40. He rallied to make four birdies in the final five holes to make the cut at 2 under. His best finishes in each major: Masters-T4, 2004; U.S. Open-T3, 2005; British Open-2nd, 2007, T2, 2014; PGA-2nd, 1999; T2, 2008.
Forecast
Overnight rain should break the heat. High of 80 with a 20-percent chance of showers. Winds at 10 mph.
Final word
“There’s a 95 percent chance (Jordan Spieth) wins and a 5 percent chance he runs away with it.” — James Hahn, whose birdie on the last hole still didn’t get him to the weekend, missing the cut by a stroke.
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