Phenom Now the Favorite: Jordan Spieth Shines Early in Sophomore Masters Showing

Coming into the 2015 Masters Tournament, Rory McIlroy was the favorite. That makes sense, considering he's the No. 1 player in the world and the winner of the last two majors. However, Jordan Spieth wasn't far behind, per Odds Shark.

Now, after Spieth shot a stellar 64 during the first day of play at Augusta National to take a three-shot lead at eight-under par—seven strokes ahead of McIlroy—there's no doubt that Spieth is the man to beat.

After all, there have only been two better rounds in the history of the Masters: Nick Price in 1986 and Greg Norman in 1996, who both shot a 63.

Coming into the day, Spieth said that he "should be able to make some birdies and get myself up there," per ASAP Sports. Did he ever.

The 21-year-old—yes, you read that right—had nine birdies on the day and looked on track to shoot a 62, which would have been the lowest round ever at a major, until his lone bogey of the day on the 15th hole. 

He almost had an eagle on the 14th hole too—if only that silly flagstick hadn't gotten in the way:

McIlroy had felt good about his one-under-par round when he finished in the early afternoon, thinking that anything under par would be decent. It's safe to say that even he didn't see Spieth's round coming.

Spieth was completely in control of every aspect of his game on Thursday afternoon; he hit 15 of 18 greens and 11 of 14 fairways, per Masters.com. He walked after putts like they were never in question, had not a single yip in his swing and never looked like he doubted himself for one second.

As he marched to the top of the leaderboard, he had everyone buzzing—even his peers.

Now, the excitement should be tempered—after all, only one player in the past 30 years has carried the 18-hole lead to a Masters victory: Trevor Immelman, of course.

But while green jackets aren't given out after 18 holes, this is still Spieth's tournament to lose. He's not a fluke name—in fact, right now he's the No. 4 golfer in the world. And if you're surprised that he's stealing the headlines away from McIlroy's career-Grand Slam chase and Tiger Woods' return to the tour, you haven't been paying attention to the sport over the past couple of years. 

Two years ago, Spieth became the first teenager in 82 years to win a PGA Tour event when he took home the trophy at the John Deere Classic after a sudden-death playoff. He won PGA Tour Rookie of the Year honors that season.

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Then in 2014, Spieth turned heads with his performance at Augusta—he shared the 54-hole lead with Bubba Watson and at one point had a two-stroke lead on Sunday before Watson seized control on the back nine. Now that was a surprise.

"Last year I had—I think I remember being in here saying I had no expectations, didn't know what it was going to be like, never played the tournament before," he told reporters during the pre-tournament press conference this week, per ASAP Sports. "This year, I come in maybe expecting to play well on a course I feel very comfortable on."

Spieth is a special talent, and his prodigal skills put him in rarefied (and decorated) company: He surpassed 2011 McIlroy as the youngest 18-hole leader ever at Augusta, and he could become the second-youngest Masters winner this year, just trailing 1997 Tiger.

It seems to be a matter of if, not when Spieth walks away with his first major. If he continues his recent run of form, Sunday could be the special day.

Spieth was the hottest player by far coming into the Masters. His last three starts on the PGA Tour were a victory at the Valspar Championship and runner-up finishes at the Valero Texas Open and the Shell Houston Open. He also won two non-PGA events to start the season, the Australian Open and the Hero World Challenge.

Now, he's put himself in contention at the Masters. Not a bad start to his third full season on tour. 

Of course, if Spieth does falter, there are plenty of superstars in a position to take advantage. Besides McIlroy at one under, Jason Day had a great round and is tied with Justin Rose, Charley Hoffman and the ageless Ernie Els at two-under par. Sergio Garcia is in third at four-under par, and Phil Mickelson is at two under. In his comeback tournament, Woods had a respectable round and sits at one over par. 

But Spieth has played enough great golf over the past 12 months that he deserves to be the favorite after a round like the one he shot on Thursday.

Bet against him at your own peril.