Tour Championship 2015: Leaderboard Scores and Highlights from Friday

The top of the leaderboard after two rounds at the 2015 Tour Championship has been fairly stagnant, though that's not how one would describe the 36-hole effort from leader Henrik Stenson.

After opening with a seven-under 63 on Thursday, Stenson used a more modest approach to bring his two-day score to nine under. He's built a nice cushion with two rounds to play, as Jordan Spieth is three shots behind.

Here's the full leaderboard after Friday's second round from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta:

A victory this weekend would be sweet for Stenson, who has had a frustrating 2015 PGA Tour season. The 39-year-old has played well overall, posting eight top-10 finishes in 17 events and back-to-back runner-up finishes at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship, but he has been unable to find the winner's circle.

There's also the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus at stake for Stenson, either with a win or potentially with a top-three finish, which he addressed after Thursday's opening round, per ESPN.com:

"

I'll be happy on Sunday if I were to finish second and win the FedEx Cup. I'll be smiling more if I got two trophies, but I'll deal with one, as well. But at this point, I'm here to try and win this Tour Championship for the second time, and it would be great to pull that off. Still a long ways to go. We're only one round down, and as we know, a lot of things can happen in 54 holes.

"

Now, Stenson is in the same spot with 18 fewer holes to go. He got off to another strong start, with two birdies on the first four holes, including this short putt on No. 4, per the PGA Tour:

Stenson slowed down after that, with bogeys on the fifth and eighth, though he sprinkled in another birdie on No. 7 to prevent a letdown. He settled into a groove after that, playing the final 10 holes at one under par.

Another player who is looking to end the season on a high note, Spieth has put himself in an excellent position to make a move Saturday after posting the lowest score of Round 2 (66).

This was the putt that got Spieth squarely into Stenson's rearview mirror, per the PGA Tour:

Spieth did have a strong 36-hole stretch at the BMW Championship, opening at 11 under through two rounds, but couldn't match it with a 72 on Saturday and 70 on Sunday. He has another shot at redemption this weekend, especially after missing consecutive cuts at The Barclays and the Deutsche Bank Championship.

A victory by Spieth, combined with Jason Day's five wins this season, would be historic, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

One huge key to success for Spieth in Round 2 was his performance on the greens. The PGA Tour noted he needed just 23 putts.

Things will get interesting Saturday with Spieth and Stenson paired together, which ESPN.com's Jason Sobel noted has produced good results for the Texas native in the past.

Since no conversation about Spieth would be complete without a mention of Rory McIlroy, the former world No. 1 remains in the mix despite not making a move Friday. 

McIlroy fired a one-over 71 to remain at four under and six shots off the lead. It was an unusual round for the 26-year-old, as shots like this on No. 14 would seem to indicate good things, per the PGA Tour:

However, McIlroy needed that shot and a birdie on the next hole to get his score back to even par for the day. He scuffled on the front nine, shooting one over, and could never find a consistent groove, ending things on a sour note with a bogey.

There's been a steady progression for McIlroy since returning from an ankle injury in August. He struggled at the Deutsche Bank Championship three weeks ago, but he got into the top four at the BMW Championship and is poised to do even better this weekend.

Moving further down the leaderboard, though not much, Jason Day proved that he is human. After winning four of his previous six tournaments, the Australian star was over par with a 71 to end the day nine shots behind Stenson.

While that likely takes Day out of the title discussion this weekend, it could add a wrinkle to the increasingly interesting PGA Tour Player of the Year debate. 

The arguments for both Spieth and Day are sound. Day leads the tour in wins (five) and has been playing out of his mind for the last two months, per Ray:

Spieth, while not as successful lately, entered the Tour Championship with four wins this season, including two majors, and Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel provided additional numbers to support the case:

There's not a lot separating Spieth and Day in traditional stats, so any kind of advanced metric that provides delineation between the two could end up being all the difference. 

Yet as good as both players have been this season, Stenson continues to be the player to beat at the Tour Championship. He will need one more big round to avoid giving Spieth, Paul Casey, Zach Johnson and others an opportunity to steal a win Sunday.