With overnight rain, the scores could be low again on Saturday and where Jordan Spieth sits now, the overall scoring record held by Tiger Woods could be next.
It is moving day at the Masters, and there's never been a year where a big move needs to be made more than this Saturday. Jordan Spieth is blowing out the field at the midpoint, breaking records, and threatening to make this a laugher before the first tee ball is hit on Sunday morning.
Spieth backed up his opening round 8-under 64 with a second round 66, setting a new 36-hole record at the Masters of 14-under 130. The previous record stood for almost 40 years -- Ray Floyd's 13-under 131 set back in 1976. He's got 15 birdies and just one bogey through his first two days. And if he doesn't start making a few more bogeys, this thing will be over soon.
The over/under for Spieth on Saturday would probably be 69.5. He can't keep firing rounds in the mid-60s, right? Now that Floyd's record is gone, he's going for the overall scoring record of 18-under 270, set by the 21-year-old Tiger Woods back in 1997. Even though it's called "moving day,' Augusta prefers to set the course up tougher on Friday and definitely Saturday. The final round setup is a bit more benign, allowing for birdies and those streaks on the back nine that have become synonymous with the Masters. But given the rain in the area this week, Augusta may not have a chance to have the course playing as firm and fast as they would like.
It rained a lot last night in Augusta. Tiger's tournament record of 18 under is in great danger this weekend. #Masters #SpiethTown
— Alex Myers (@AlexMyers3) April 11, 2015
When world-class players have a big deficit to close, and it's five-six-seven shots right now, most say they would prefer the course to play easier than harder. At least then you have a chance to shoot a low 60s round and make up some ground if the leader stalls. If it's playing difficult, there's fewer openings for a run and everyone is just sort of grinding to stay around even-par (that's what can make the U.S. Open a bore, especially compared to the Masters).
Tiger Woods, on the other hand, almost always prefers the firm and fast conditions. That's the case again this week. He's been mystified by the "slow" green speeds, his balls repeatedly coming up short of the hole in several key spots. Woods has mentioned it at length after both rounds, and also said his entire group (he played with Jamie Donaldson and Jimmy Walker) could never adjust or figure out how slow they were rolling so far.
Tiger probably won't be happy with all the rain then. It's allegedly harder on his game, if you believe his repeated complaint, and it also sets up Spieth to shatter a scoring record that we thought would stand for decades longer. Not great for Tiger!
Woods will start the day 1:15 p.m. with his old friend Sergio Garcia. That he turned in a 3-under round of 69 and made the cut on Friday seemed impossible a week ago. I think his tournament has to be considered a success, and starting the weekend 12 shots back, entertaining the thought of a fifth green jacket doesn't seem realistic.
Here are all your scores at the top of the third round:
| Place | Player | Score | Round 1 | Round 2 |
| 1 | Jordan Spieth | -14 | 64 | 66 |
| 2 | Charley Hoffman | -9 | 67 | 68 |
| T3 | Justin Rose | -7 | 67 | 70 |
| T3 | Dustin Johnson | -7 | 70 | 67 |
| T3 | Paul Casey | -7 | 69 | 68 |
| 6 | Phil Mickelson | -6 | 70 | 68 |
| 7 | Ernie Els | -5 | 67 | 72 |
| T8 | Kevin Na | -4 | 74 | 66 |
| T8 | Kevin Streelman | -4 | 70 | 70 |
| T8 | Bill Haas | -4 | 69 | 71 |
| T8 | Ryan Moore | -4 | 74 | 66 |
| T12 | Louis Oosthuizen | -3 | 72 | 69 |
| T12 | Angel Cabrera | -3 | 72 | 69 |
| T12 | Mark O'Meara | -3 | 73 | 68 |
| T12 | Jason Day | -3 | 67 | 74 |
| T12 | Adam Scott | -3 | 72 | 69 |
| T12 | Hideki Matsuyama | -3 | 71 | 70 |
| T12 | Charl Schwartzel | -3 | 71 | 70 |
| T19 | Tiger Woods | -2 | 73 | 69 |
| T19 | Sergio Garcia | -2 | 68 | 74 |
| T19 | Danny Willett | -2 | 71 | 71 |
| T19 | Russell Henley | -2 | 68 | 74 |
| T19 | Jonas Blixt | -2 | 72 | 70 |
| T19 | Patrick Reed | -2 | 70 | 72 |
| T19 | Bubba Watson | -2 | 71 | 71 |
| T19 | Rory McIlroy | -2 | 71 | 71 |
| T27 | Ryan Palmer | -1 | 69 | 74 |
| T27 | Keegan Bradley | -1 | 71 | 72 |
| T29 | Seung-yul Noh | E | 70 | 74 |
| T29 | Geoff Ogilvy | E | 74 | 70 |
| T29 | Zach Johnson | E | 72 | 72 |
| T29 | Webb Simpson | E | 69 | 75 |
| T33 | Erik Compton | 1 | 73 | 72 |
| T33 | Bernd Wiesberger | 1 | 75 | 70 |
| T33 | Chris Kirk | 1 | 72 | 73 |
| T33 | Hunter Mahan | 1 | 75 | 70 |
| T33 | Graeme McDowell | 1 | 71 | 74 |
| T33 | Brooks Koepka | 1 | 74 | 71 |
| T33 | Thongchai Jaidee | 1 | 75 | 70 |
| T33 | John Senden | 1 | 71 | 74 |
| T33 | Jamie Donaldson | 1 | 74 | 71 |
| T33 | Jimmy Walker | 1 | 73 | 72 |
| T33 | Rickie Fowler | 1 | 73 | 72 |
| T33 | Vijay Singh | 1 | 75 | 70 |
| T33 | Darren Clarke | 1 | 74 | 71 |
| T33 | Ian Poulter | 1 | 73 | 72 |
| T33 | Morgan Hoffmann | 1 | 73 | 72 |
| T33 | Jason Dufner | 1 | 74 | 71 |
| T33 | Sang-Moon Bae | 1 | 74 | 71 |
| T50 | Cameron Tringale | 2 | 71 | 75 |
| T50 | Matt Kuchar | 2 | 72 | 74 |
| T50 | Henrik Stenson | 2 | 73 | 73 |
| T50 | Lee Westwood | 2 | 73 | 73 |
| T50 | Anirban Lahiri | 2 | 71 | 75 |
| T50 | Steve Stricker | 2 | 73 | 73 |
Source SBNation.com - All Posts http://ift.tt/1Hf7ipL
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