Masters Leaderboard 2016: Updates on Golf's Top Scorers on Saturday
Jordan Spieth has a chance to add yet another record to his impressive resume on Saturday, as he enters the third round of the 2016 Masters Golf having led the pack for a record-tying six straight rounds.
He sits one shot ahead of Rory McIlroy, who took advantage of the difficult conditions on Friday to close the gap at the top of the board.
Here's a look at how the action played out on Friday, courtesy of the tournament's official Twitter account:
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Danny Lee and Scott Piercy are tied for third after two days of action, sitting two under and two shots behind Spieth. Here's a look at the leaderboard entering Round 3:
Golfers to Watch
Jordan Spieth (-4): 2:50 p.m. ET
The defending champion maintains the lead at the Augusta National Golf Club after 36 holes of golf, but Friday's round was a rough one for Spieth. With winds plaguing the course, the 22-year-finished two-over and had to watch as McIlroy closed the gap to a single shot entering Round 3.
Spieth double-bogeyed the fifth hole and added four more bogeys to his card, just one day after playing a flawless opening round. He looked uncomfortable and even frustrated at times, but he turned things around just in time to finish par on the final hole and keep McIlroy behind him.
While Friday's round wasn't a good one for Spieth, he's still the favourite to win his second Masters title, and rightly so, per ESPN Stats & Info:
Keeping his composure will be key on Saturday―as shared by the Cauldron, he complained about being timed several times, and he seemed to lose his focus because of it:
McIlroy looked very strong on Friday, and conditions will be fairly similar on Saturday, so Spieth better bring his A-game.
Rory McIlroy (-3): 2:50 p.m. ET
Reducing this year's Masters to a battle between Spieth and McIlroy would be unfair to the rest of the pack, but there's no denying almost all neutral and casual fans will have their eye on the pair during Round 3.
Spieth is the biggest name in golf right now, but McIlroy is right on his heels, and he enters Round 3 seemingly better equipped to deal with the Augusta course, which looks a lot more challenging than it did last year.
The Northern Irishman finished one under on Friday, but as shared by Sky Sports News HQ, he was more than happy with that score:
McIlroy made the difference on the back nine, where he bogeyed once and added three eagles. His approaches looked excellent, particularly given how windy it was, and his short game was on point as well. This putt on the 16th was a thing of beauty:
Per ESPN Stats & Info, McIlroy has found much more success when paired with Spieth than vice-versa, but the two have never paired during the weekend of a major, so there's no point looking at the numbers for too long.
Momentum lies with McIlroy entering Round 3, but Spieth's record when everything is on the line is phenomenal. With these two finally coming head-to-head, fans should be in for a treat.
Dustin Johnson (E): 1:50 p.m. ET
Just four players finished Friday's round with a score under par: McIlroy, Troy Merritt, Daniel Berger and Dustin Johnson. The 31-year-old may have struggled tremendously on the opening day, but his strong showing in Round 2 has put him in a good position to charge up the leaderboard on Saturday.
His play on Friday was solid, and after a bogey on the 11th, he went on an excellent run that included two eagles to close out the back nine.
Consistency was the key, as he kept things simple with his approaches and showed he can power balls through the wind. With similar conditions expected on moving day, he has a great chance of moving up the board ahead of a run at the title on Sunday.
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