Masters 2016: Biggest Questions Entering Moving Day
And just that quickly, two days of the Masters are done.
Coming into the tournament, most—if not all—eyes were on the dream trio of Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, which entered the week with ownership of the top three spots in the world rankings and the championship trophies from five of the last six major tournaments.
Not to mention the fact that McIlroy was aiming to become the sixth player to complete a career Grand Slam and Spieth was in search of the first repeat win at Augusta since Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002.
All three have proven their credibility through the first two days, though only Spieth and McIlroy are on the first page of the leaderboard, finishing 36 holes in first and second place, respectively.
Day was five under par through 14 holes on Thursday but gave them all back before the round ended. The back nine did him in again on Day 2 as he went from two under par to one over par from the 11th through the 18th. He made the cut but has some work to do to stay relevant.
While Spieth has a one-stroke lead headed into moving day, anything can happen in golf.
Here are the biggest questions as the weekend begins at Augusta.
Can Jordan Spieth Keep His Emotions in Check?
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The guy is in the lead after 36 holes at the Masters for the second straight year and he's played over par at Augusta precisely once in 10 professional rounds.
But when you're as dominant as Jordan Spieth has been, the tiny cracks become magnified.
The decorated Texan showed his emotional 20-something side several times during Friday's round, which was an up-and-down grind that saw him get to eight under par with a birdie at No. 3 and back to five under par with a bogey-bogey turn at Nos. 9 and 10.
The outbursts were more surprising given his reputation as a steely-eyed, pressure-averse assassin.
"It was a mental test today. Really tough conditions combined with where the pins were located," he told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi during Friday's TV broadcast. "It was a battle. The back nine felt a bit rushed."
He finished out the back nine in 38 to stay at four under par and a shot clear of the rest of the field. But considering the windy climate he's likely to see again on Saturday—winds are forecast from 20 to 30 mph—there may be plenty of chances for others to give him a push.
"I was at eight under, and you finish at four, that's kind of tough, because I feel like I played a bit better than four over from that point on," Spieth told Rinaldi. "Tomorrow's going to be probably more difficult than today. Even par will be a heck of a score tomorrow."
Will Rory McIlroy Continue to Contend?
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More so than anyone, it seemed like Rory McIlroy's prospects changed as Friday ended.
He birdied the 15th and 16th holes and finished his second round at three under and within three strokes of Jordan Spieth's lead, but as the defending champion faltered down the stretch with bogeys at 16 and 17, the man from Northern Ireland's stock rose dramatically.
He'll play 18 holes alongside Spieth in Saturday's third round, providing the sort of spotlight that he's often thrived in while winning his first four majors. He led after 36 holes on the way to three of those titles and was tied for fifth at the halfway point of the other.
He told ESPN's Mike Tirico and Curtis Strange that he was happy to be "just part of the narrative" through the first two rounds, while adding that he'd be happy to play a bigger role come the weekend.
He's got it, and it appears he's ready to enjoy it.
"I feel so much better about myself after today than I did yesterday," he said.
Can Bryson DeChambeau Recover from His Late-Round Meltdown?
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If you clicked on your TV as Bryson DeChambeau cleared the 15th green with his sixth birdie of the day, you'd have sworn he'd be the 22-year-old dominating the conversation this weekend.
That putt got him to four under par for the tournament and gave him a clear hold on second place behind the tournament's other 22-year-old—defending champion Jordan Spieth.
Instead, a missed par putt from close range on the 16th snuffed the momentum. And a dreadful performance on the tee at No. 18—where he twice drove deep into the trees—yielded a triple-bogey seven and a desultory even-par finish for the day, four shots back and tied for eighth.
It'd be a lot to ask for any grizzled pro to recover from, let alone an amateur making his first Augusta appearance. But ESPN's Nick Faldo was nevertheless impressed with the kid's mannerisms as he went through the post-round handshakes with his playing partners and caddies.
And if nothing else, it may be a moment he points to when he eventually does break through.
"You don't want to finish off with a triple, but it is what it is," DeChambeau told ESPN's Tom Rinaldi. "At the same time, I'm thrilled to be playing on the weekend. (Hole) 18 happened, but hey, it's golf.
"It's just about my comfortability factor and increasing that threshold."
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Will the Weather Continue to Take Its Toll?
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They'll all be looking, but it might be best for the remaining players if they don't actually digest what they'll see on the radar for Saturday's round.
The Weather Channel suggests the feels-like temperature will dip to 43 degrees by sunrise, and the sustained winds by the time Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy tee off at 2:50 p.m. ET are forecast in the neighborhood of 19 to 20 mph.
By the time Friday ended—as the first Masters round with no scores in the 60s in nine years—the wind's impact was already clear.
"These guys have been beaten up by the wind," ESPN's Peter Kostis said. "You can see it in their body language, you can read it on their faces."
Provided they survive through Saturday, the final 18 could go a bit better.
It'll feel like 35 degrees at 7 a.m. ET Sunday, but temperatures will crawl into the 60s by mid-afternoon, and the wind isn't forecast to blow any harder than 7 mph all day.
"It's almost a different golf tournament now," Spieth told ESPN. "I'll approach it that way and I'll try to stay very, very patient."
Can Another Former Major Champion Put Some Pressure on Spieth?
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Given that he's a single stroke behind, Rory McIlroy is clearly the major champion best positioned to give Jordan Spieth a push. But he's not the only one who might accomplish the task.
It's a gap of 14 names on the leaderboard before you get to the next closest pair of former big-event winners, both of whom will enter the third round at one over par.
Bernhard Langer is 58 years old and won his second Masters title in 1993, three months before Spieth was born, so his standing within five shots of the lead has as much a ceremonial feel as a competitive one.
And then we have the world's No. 1 player, Jason Day, whose chances were boosted significantly as Spieth and the rest of the field faltered down Friday's stretch. Day was eight shots behind by the time he and Spieth had played four holes, but he saw that lead cut to five when Spieth finished bogey, bogey, par.
He finished tied for second at Augusta in 2011, so he clearly knows the way. And given that the majority of attention will be on the Spieth-McIlroy pairing, he can handle his business under the radar.
"If Jordan and Rory get too wrapped up in each other, you never know," ESPN's Nick Faldo said. "I think that's a huge opportunity for Jason to get into the red and get into the mix."
Who's the Dark Horse Most Likely to Emerge?
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He's got two second-place major finishes in his career, so it's hard to label Dustin Johnson as a dark horse.
Still, given the heartbreaking way he's managed to lose from the front, it would be an unusual sight for big-hitting Dustin Johnson to play his way from off the radar to the top of the leaderboard.
But maybe a stalking position is just what he needs.
Johnson was largely ignored after a 73 had him seven shots off the Thursday pace, but a strong back nine in challenging conditions on Friday made him one of just four players under par for Friday's round.
He'll begin Saturday four shots behind Spieth, and if he's able to carry the steadiness over for another 18 holes, his profile by Sunday may be a quantum leap higher.
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