Surely Augusta National remembered Jordan Spieth.
The 20-year-old runner-up last year in his first Masters. Nice clothes. Good kid. Never thought he’d come back and firebomb the place.
Flirting with history, Spieth opened the 79th Masters with an 8-under 64 on Thursday, capping a red-number day when 40 of the field of 97 (43 percent) matched par or better. He takes into Friday’s second round a 3-stroke lead over an unlikely quartet of 42-year-old Ernie Els, the green-gloved Charley Hoffman, charging Jason Day and Justin Rose, who surprised even himself with his 67.
Four shots back at 68 were Sergio Garcia and former Georgia star Russell Henley, who marveled as many did at the ripe scoring conditions: “Just had a ball today.”
Not as grand as Spieth, who ripped off nine birdies, including six within seven holes around the turn to reach 8 under with four holes to play, a solid threat to the majors’ single-round scoring record (63). But he cooled after bogeying the par-5 15th — caught between clubs, his second shot flew the green by 20 yards — but birdied No. 18 with a treacherous 20-footer.
He finished one shot shy of the majors record first set by Johnny Miller in the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont.
“Very cool, very cool,” he said. “Yeah, I’d take three more.”
If Augusta National remains so cooperative, it could happen.
“Perfect conditions,” said 65-year-old Tom Watson, whose 71 made him the oldest player to break par at a Masters. “No wind. Green are very soft. It was there for the taking, the golf course.”
Although Friday afternoon may turn breezy, overnight showers are probable, making for a continued soft track during the weekend. The Masters record for lowest cut — 1-over 145, set in 1979 — could be matched Friday.
Not all shared the joy. Rory McIlroy never found the pace with a scrambling 71. Tiger Woods opened the tournament with a bogey and never fully recovered with his 1-over 73. Defending champion Bubba Watson slapped around a couple of three-putts and was still able to survive with a 71.
“I didn’t play my way out of it and I’m not too far behind, so I’m happy with it,” Watson said.
Pick any story line, but it’s hard to match Els, who has missed the cut in four of seven events this season and has yet to finish in the top 10. He admitted it is still difficult for him to play in Augusta, when a span of strong Masters performances last decade was dashed in 2004 when Phil Mickelson birdied the 72nd hole to beat him by a shot. A two-time winner of both the British and U.S. Opens, he has yet to win in Augusta.
“I was trying to wipe it under the carpet that I wanted to win this one so badly for so many years,” Els said. “Definitely, there was something going on. Kind of, you get fed up with yourself: Never with Augusta.”
But now after winning his last British at 42, he might finally take the Masters at 45?
“Well, that’s the plan,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
He might have to tie a gallery rope around Spieth, who was eight months old when Els first played Augusta National. But like Els, Spieth has been burned here. He was tied with Watson entering Sunday last year, shot even par and lost by 3. Billy Horschel, his playing partner Thursday, told Spieth at one point, “I need a tape recorder that just plays, ‘Nice shot, Jordan’ on each tee box.” But his memory of 2014 is fresh.
“It’s tough to sleep on a lead here, and I saw that last year,” said Spieth, who entered this week with a win at Valspar and two second places over his past three tournaments. “But at the same time, I’m a lot more confident in the way that I can handle certain situations and the patience level I can have, having closed a couple of events since and seeing some putts go in today.”
As well as Spieth played, Day had the chance to catch him in the late afternoon, after a string of five birdies — holes No. 12-16 — dropped him to 6 under. But a bogey out of the pine straw on No. 17 delivered him in the four-way jam in second.
“Yeah, we were out there watching (the scoreboards),” Day said. “Today, you’re just trying to keep yourself in it, so you’re not too worried about where they’re going. Obviously, you want to try and stay with the lead, but you’re just trying to play yourself somewhere into contention, to Sunday’s back nine. Because that’s where it all kind of happens.”
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