Masters Leaderboard 2018: Friday Score Updates and Tournament Predictions

Friday presents a new test for the leaders at the 2018 Masters. 

Most of the players sitting in the top 10 after Thursday's first round of golf are going to be out on course Friday morning.

Based off early returns, the course is continuing to play difficult, with even the easiest of holes posing challenges to the leaders.

Through three hours of play, one player is under par in the second round, but that isn't counting leader Jordan Spieth, who is just beginning his second set of 18 holes.

Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Justin Thomas are among the players waiting until the afternoon to attack Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.

Friday Score Updates

Jordan Spieth (-6) 

Matt Kuchar (-4)

Tony Finau (-3)

Rory McIlroy (-3)

Rafael Cabrera-Bello (-3)

Henrik Stenson (-3)

Patrick Reed (-3)

Charley Hoffman (-3)

Adam Hadwin (-3)

Spieth's six-under 66 from the first round has not been touched at the top of the leaderboard during the first three hours of the second round.

Tony Finau, who sat two strokes behind Spieth after 18 holes, bogeyed the first hole to drop to three shots behind the leader.

Matt Kuchar, who is playing in the same group as Phil Mickelson and Rickie Fowler, recorded a par at No. 1 to remain two shots back of Spieth.

The full Masters leaderboard can be found here, with live updates throughout the day found through this link.

Tournament Predictions

Woods Moves Into Top 10

Woods may not have turned in a dominant performance like the one from first-round leader Spieth, but he kept himself in a good position to make a move up the leaderboard as early as the second round.

While Woods' place outside the top 10 may be concerning to those who follow the recent trends at Augusta, the 42-year-old proved in the past he is capable of surging up the standings from a lower position.

Woods is the last golfer to win the Masters after finishing outside of the top 10 in the first round and over par, per ESPN Stats & Info:

The four-time Masters winner heads into Friday's round, which begins for him at 1:27 p.m. ET, with a bit of confidence following a strong Thursday finish that included three pars and two birdies in the final five holes.

Woods referenced that stretch of holes as a collection that helped him get back into the tournament, per Mike McAllister of PGATour.com.

"I could have easily let the round slip away from me, but I got it back," Woods said. "And I'm right back in this tournament."

Although it has been a while since he played four competitive rounds at Augusta, Woods achieved a good amount of success in the second round, as he possesses seven second-round scores under 70, including a 69 from his last appearance in 2015.

With Woods playing at a more comfortable rate Friday, he will make up a few shots on the leaders and sit in the top 10 by the time play concludes.

Thomas Struggles to Make Cut

While a collection of big names surged into the top 10 Thursday, Thomas failed to produce many positives, as he shot a two-over 74.

The 74 was Thomas' worst single-round score in a tournament since the Sentry Tournament of Champions held in the first week of January.

The No. 2 player in the World Golf Ranking appeared ready to contend for the first time in three appearances at Augusta, but instead, he is going to struggle to make the cut Friday.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

In his two previous trips to the Masters, Thomas carded a 73 and 76 in the second round, and he hasn't recorded a score under 70 in nine total rounds.

Although the 24-year-old's recent form on the PGA Tour suggests he is going to turn it around Friday, Augusta is a different animal compared to other courses he has played and is hard to tame.

What hurt Thomas in the first round was a bogey on the par-five 13th and a double bogey on the par-three 16th. Those are holes most players take advantage of in order to boost their stock at Augusta.

Although it is hard to tell where the projected cut line is going to be Friday afternoon, Thomas will hover around it just because he can't find a rhythm on course.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from PGATour.com and augusta.com.