Masters 2015 Leaderboard: Updating Results and Standings for Saturday
The way things are looking, the 2015 Masters could feature a runaway victory, and that's not just because Jordan Spieth is playing out of his mind and has a five-stroke cushion over the field.
According to Weather.com, Augusta National may see some wet weather Saturday morning, as a 60 percent chance of early showers are expected before clearing up for a partly sunny afternoon. Spieth will be the last to tee off Saturday, and he'll reap the benefits of getting the day's most pristine scoring conditions as a result.
Everything appears to be going the 21-year-old phenom's way at Augusta—from some Round 1 luck in Amen Corner, to some advice from Masters legend Ben Crenshaw before Round 2 and what looks like a break in the weather prior to Round 3. Barring a Greg Norman-esque collapse, the tournament appears to be Spieth's for the taking.
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Here's a look at the updated Masters leaderboard, as the rest of the field attempts to keep pace with the Texas native:
Spieth certainly doesn't lack confidence following setting a new scoring record at 14 under for the tournament's 36-hole mark. He's playing within himself and making smart decisions on the course. His mature decision making was a big reason for his blemish-free second round.
He shared his thoughts on his ongoing mentality at the Masters during a press conference, via Bill Pennington of The New York Times:
"What I learned last year is that the weekend of a major, those rounds can often seem like two rounds in one day. It's all the kinds of mental stuff that’s running through your head—the overall stress level.
The hardest thing to do is put aside wanting to win so bad, and just kind of let yourself go through the motion—letting the ball-striking and putting happen. I have to be very patient and understand that this weekend is going to feel like a whole other tournament.
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Spieth certainly appears to have the mentality to continue his stellar play going forward, and he certainly doesn't lack for momentum or confidence. Another brilliant round Saturday could be just about enough to secure his first major title.
If anyone is going to catch Spieth, it could be the surprising Charley Hoffman. Playing in just his second Masters, he's been nearly as consistent as the tournament's leader, firing a 67 on Day 1 and a 68 on Day 2. In fact, Hoffman nearly put up a blemish-free round of his own Friday but some bad luck on the 18th hole led to a bogey.
We'll see if that dropped shot on Friday's last hole, or playing alongside a surging Spieth, leads to any issues for Hoffman in what will surely be a mentally draining Saturday. If he can keep his composure and put up a solid round, we could be in for a compelling Sunday duel.
Dustin Johnson flew up the leaderboard Friday after setting a new Masters record with three eagles in Round 2. His 67 was one of the low rounds of the day, but ongoing mistakes are troublesome for the resilient player, as Johnson began his day with a double bogey on the first hole and also recorded bogeys on Nos. 10 and 18. He'll need to clean that up if he intends to challenge Spieth.
Sitting just behind Johnson on the leaderboard is Phil Mickelson. Lefty produced a surprisingly good round Friday, shooting a four-under 68 and is now six under for the tournament. He's still far off the pace, but this three-time Masters winner knows how to navigate Augusta just as well as anyone in this tournament.
Speaking of previous Masters champions who produced some surprising results on Friday, Tiger Woods shot a three-under 69 to move to two under for the tournament. He certainly answered questions surrounding the state of his game with some brilliant play around the greens and consistent ball striking. Perhaps the career of this former world No. 1 isn't done just yet.
Rory McIlroy, the current world No. 1, isn't exactly producing the Masters many thought he would. He shot his second consecutive 71 Friday to sit at two under for the tournament. He's well off the pace and his chances of earning the career Grand Slam are looking slim. If there's any hope for McIlroy, it's the fact that he must have gained some momentum after following up his front-nine 40 with a back-nine 31 in Round 2.
Defending champion Bubba Watson is also in this group at two under. He hasn't been able to recreate the magic we saw in 2014, and some pedestrian numbers were the end result. He'll need more than the three birdies he recorded Friday to make a run at back-to-back Masters titles.
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