Masters 2018: Live Updates for Leaderboard Scores on Friday

Augusta National Golf Club is wreaking havoc on golf's top stars during Friday's second round of the Masters.

Of the players tied for positions in the top 10, only two are under par for the round, while Jordan Spieth, Matt Kuchar and Rory McIlroy are struggling.

While the players on course are dropping closer to even par, Tiger Woods is watching from afar, as the gap between himself and the leaders dwindled to four shots before his 1:27 p.m. ET tee time.

With most of the leaders still on the front nine, there is plenty of time for the course to bring everyone back together around even par heading into the weekend.

Live updates of the second round can be found in Bleacher Report's live blog.

Leaderboard

Rickie Fowler (-3) 

Matt Kuchar (-3)

Jordan Spieth (-3)

Bernd Wiesberger (-3)

Henrik Stenson (-3)

Patrick Reed (-3)

Charley Hoffman (-3)

Adam Hadwin (-3)

Full leaderboard can be found here.

Spieth Experiencing Early Struggles

Jordan Spieth looked unstoppable at the end of Thursday's first round, as he birdied five straight holes to open up a two-stroke gap on his closest competition.

It didn't take long for the advantage to be erased on Friday, as Spieth recorded a double bogey on the first hole and followed it up with a bogey on No. 2.

The 24-year-old bounced back with four consecutive pars, but he is locked in a fight with six other golfers at the top of the leaderboard.

David J. Phillip/Associated Press

Spieth's second-round struggles are a bit uncharacteristic of his play at Augusta, as he boasts an average second-round score just under 70 in his four Masters appearances.

Luckily for Spieth, he has the back nine ahead of him, and that is where he found most of his success in the first round.

Spieth made the turn at two-under on Thursday before unleashing his string of birdies that separated him from the rest of the field overnight.

Stage Is Set For Woods To Climb Leaderboard

With everyone dropping closer to him in the standings, Woods is primed to make up some ground if he can deal with the conditions better than the players currently out on course.

Few players know the intricacies of Augusta like Woods, and with a morning to watch what his competitors have struggled with, he could have enough knowledge to play a smart 18 holes.

While we don't expect Woods to replicate Spieth's 66 from Thursday, the 42-year-old has a chance to move up into the top 10, or even the top five, if he makes a few birdies and avoids bogeys on the front nine.

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Woods' first round back at Augusta since 2015 featured 11 pars, four bogeys and three birdies, with six of the pars coming on the front nine.

If the 14-time major champion is able to steady the course on the front nine and find a way to make a birdie or two before making the turn, he could surge to the first page of the leaderboard, which would cause a cavalcade of noise to flow through Augusta.

However, if Woods fails to learn from the mistakes of the morning threesomes, he could experience a drop of his own, which would bring him closer to the projected cut line.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Augusta.com.