Masters Cut Line 2015: Latest Projections After Friday's Leaderboard Analysis

Although the 2015 Masters is only halfway complete, you can't help but wonder if you're witnessing something special—similar to Tiger Woods' 1997 triumph at the Augusta National Golf Club. 

Jordan Spieth hasn't quite lapped the competition through the first two rounds, but he's clearly established himself as the the guy to beat.

Here's a look at the gap between Spieth and his next closest challengers.

Plenty of golfers have looked great through the first two rounds at Augusta, only to fallen apart over the weekend. It would be way too premature to anoint Spieth the 2015 Masters champion.

With that said, the 21-year-old hasn't shown anything in his Masters results so far that would lead to believe a massive collapse is on the horizon. In fact, his total score through his first six rounds are equal to that of Woods' first six rounds, per Golf Channel's Justin Ray:

According to ESPN Stats & Info, three golfers have held a five-stroke lead through two rounds at the Masters, and all three won the tournament:

Spieth has been so good through Friday that Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman is forced to set a new standard for what constitutes drama at a major tournament:

"

Phil Mickelson is within one shot of being within 7 shots of Jordan Spieth. This could get good.

— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) April 10, 2015"

Whether the Dallas native can win his first major will be by far the biggest storyline of the weekend.

When it comes to Friday, though, quite a bit of attention was drawn to the cut line, which ended up being three over. In terms of notable stars, there were some big names but none aside from Brandt Snedeker who looked to be serious contenders to win the tournament.

Here's a small handful of the more noteworthy golfers who missed the cut:

Golfer	R1	R2	Total Score
Brandt Snedeker	74	73	+3
Jim Furyk	74	73	+3
Luke Donald	75	72	+3
Victor Dubuisson	74	75	+5
Padraig Harrington	72	77	+5
Miguel Angel Jimenez	78	73	+7
Tom Watson	71	81	+8
Ben Crenshaw	91	85	+32

Ben Crenshaw sits last in the leaderboard, but Friday was a joyous occasion for the 63-year-old. He wrapped final competitive round at the Masters.

Crenshaw talked about how he felt heading into the clubhouse for the final time, per Jason Sobel of ESPN.com:

Fred Couples was also among those culled from the herd after Round 2. The PGA Tour's Twitter account noted why that was such a surprising occurrence:

With only the top 50 golfers remaining, things will really get interesting for Saturday and Sunday. Of course, if nobody can seriously challenge Spieth, much of the fun will be sucked out of the final day as the youngster inches toward his destiny.

And it might not be enough for Charley Hoffman, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose and those trailing Spieth to simply play well. They'll either have to put together an incredible 18 to 36 holes or hope Spieth falls back to earth and opens the door for them.

Dustin Johnson will be among the top challengers to watch. He posted a respectable two-under 70 in the first round and was sensational Friday. Johnson carded eagles on Nos. 2, 8 and 15, which set a course record, per the Masters' official Twitter account:

The 30-year-old has always had the talent to win a major tournament, but he has often been his own worst enemy, especially at Augusta. Maybe this is the year he puts it all together.

Jason Day and Adam Scott are both 11 strokes back of Spieth. They're serious long shots, but one strong round might have them within striking distance.

Sergio Garcia and Tiger Woods are unlikely to have a major impact on the final result, but they'll be two of the golfers to watch Saturday. The two stars are tied at two under and will be paired together for Round 3.

Garcia had some fun with the news on Twitter:

Garcia vs. Woods will add some entertainment to the third round.

At this point, anything less than a Spieth victory would be a shock. He's built a nearly unassailable lead and hasn't shown any sign that the occasion will overwhelm him on the course.

The biggest question may be whether Spieth can put together a dominating performance similar to Woods in '97 when he finished with a 12-stroke lead.