They thought it was all over. Well it never is in this great old game of wildly fluctuating fortunes. Jordan Spieth knows that, of course. "It's not going to be easy and I'm a long way from winning this tournament," said the 21-year-old Texan.
Moving day at the Masters had more manoeuvres than military training. Phil Mickelson was marauding and Justin Rose was roaring along but Spieth stayed steady ... until the last two holes that is. A double bogey on the 17th got the nerves jangling and a wayward approach into the patrons at the back of the 18th provoked more anguished gasps. The spot Spieth had found was perilous to say the least and the potential for further damage was considerable but he flopped a sublime wedge to six-feet and salvaged his par. It could have been better - he was seven shots clear of the field at one stage - but a four shot lead going into the final round of the Masters is not a bad position to be in. His eventful two-under 70 left him with a 16-under tally of 200, a new Masters record for 54-holes, as he finished clear of the rampant Rose, who birdied five of his last six holes, with Mickelson lurking in third, a shot further back. It promises to be a barnstorming final day.
Five shots ahead at the halfway stage, Spieth had the rest wheezing on behind him as they tried desperately to reduce the lee way and at least get his coat tails back in their sights.
In this major catch up, most of his rivals were requiring snookers. While the world's best tried to harry and harass him by flexing their muscles and sending out menacing signals of intent, Spieth remained resolute although the late drama tested that mettle. The day had started superbly for him as he birdied the second as if to say to the rest 'catch me if you can' but a three-putt bogey on the fourth was his first leaked shot since the 15th hole of round one. There would be other moments of concern for Spieth too but he remained resilient as the pressure mounted.
This was typified on the 15th. Having watched his short putt for par on the 14th lip out, the young Texan launched a bold, unflappable approach into the heart of the 15th green and immediately repaired the damage with a vital birdie. With Mickelson stoking up the roars ahead of him by rolling in a raking birdie putt on the 16th, Spieth stayed strong. Anything anybody could do, Spieth could do better it seemed and he proved that again by making another birdie of his own on the 16th to briefly seven shots clear at that stage. It was clinical stuff and the fist pump confirmed the importance of the moment. His brave par save on the 18th was even more decisive in the grand scheme of affairs. "It was huge," he said. "I don't recommend hitting it there. The putt was one of the biggest of my career. That will give me some momentum for the final day."
On moving day, there was plenty going on all around Augusta National, with oohs, aahs, gasps and groans drifting through the dogwoods. Mickelson was making menacing advances with a typically swashbuckling display and would eventually post a 67 for an 11-under 205. Rose, the former US Open champion, produced a telling late burst with four birdies in a row from the 13th, which included a splash out into the hole from the bunker on the 16th, and then plundered a stroke on the last to vault into second on 204 with a shimmering 67. "It was nice to stay patient and get rewarded with a hot finish," said Rose. "It's amazing and it put me in with a great opportunity. It's a great lesson, as well, to stay patient, because you never know when you're going to get your run."
Tiger Woods, meanwhile, produced a mixed bag that dazzled and dumbfounded in equal measure. His outrageous birdie on the 13th summed it up. Woods almost drop-kicked his drive and chunked it barely 100 yards into the tree. The offending club almost travelled as far as it flew from his clutches. The recovery was magical as he hacked out, launched a towering 7-iron to 15-feet and holed the putt for an unlikely four. The roars that greeted it were just like the old days. A bogey on the last, in a four-under 68 for a six-under 210, illustrated the topsy turvy nature of Woods's day. "It could have been something seriously low today," lamented Woods, the four times Masters champion.
There was a spell at one point during Friday's second round when Rory McIlroy, the world No 1, looked like the burden of expectation that was lumped on him by his quest for the career grand slam was becoming all too much. The tournament was slithering away from him, the head was drooping and the body language was down beat. He had reached the turn in 40 and was flirting with a missed cut. The salvage operation was spectacular as he charged home in 31 blows to demonstrate his majesty. During a 2014 season that was burnished by two major triumphs McIlroy still racked up eight nine-hole stretches of 40 or worse, an eye-brow raising statistic given that it came in the campaign when he firmly established himself as the best player on the planet.
Come the end of his round on Friday, the spring was back in his step and that bounce continued yesterday as he set up about chiselling into Spieth's massive advantage and surged to the turn in four-under with the aid of an eagle on the second. He had reached the eight-under mark for the tournament after 15 holes but he missed the green right on the par-three 16th and failed to get up and down before missing a eight-footer on the last for his par. It was a disappointing end for McIlroy on a captivating moving day that certainly didn't disappoint. The final day is promising to be equally as a enthralling.
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