Jordan Spieth Shoots a 68 in Improved 2nd Round at Players Championship 2018

Jordan Spieth had a solid rebound in the second round of The Players Championship, finishing his day with a 68 to squeeze in right at the projected cut line of one under par. 

The 24-year-old Texas native opened the tournament with a disappointing 75 on Thursday and needed a great performance on Friday to have any shot at playing this weekend. He's still a long way off the lead, currently held by Webb Simpson at 15 under par. 

After going into the clubhouse at three over Thursday, Spieth sounded frustrated because every break he needed seemed to go against him. 

"It's one yard, every hole," he said, via Golf.com's Dylan Dethier. "That's one yard from being eight feet away. I mean, that's such a good shot. I just can't get one single break today."

TPC Sawgrass has been Spieth's kryptonite with three straight missed cuts from 2015-17. He finished fourth in 2014, so it's not like success has completely eluded him at this tournament. 

And the good news is he created his own breaks on Friday and was locked in from the start with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. 

Spieth settled in after that with three straight pars. After the fifth hole his game went to the level that helped him go wire-to-wire at the 2015 Masters and come from behind at the 2017 Open Championship. 

Over a six-hole stretch from No. 6 through 11, Spieth went four under par. His turnaround from the first round to the second stemmed from his ability to get on the green and convert those opportunities with his putter. 

On Thursday the world No. 4 settled for one birdie and one eagle, to go along with four bogeys and one double-bogey, and he hit just 61.11 percent of greens in regulation while costing himself .937 strokes with the putter. 

Those numbers jumped up to 77.8 percent greens in regulation and, even though his strokes gained: putting remained the negative, it was a much more manageable minus-.274.

The final green did give Spieth problems when he needed three putts to end his round with a bogey that dropped his total score to one under par. 

Putting has been Spieth's big problem in 2018. He entered Friday ranked 149th in putting average (1.62) and 187th in strokes gained on the green (minus-.420). 

For comparison, he ranks in the top 20 in strokes gained: off the tee, strokes gained from tee to green, greens in regulation and scrambling. If he can find consistency with his putter, another run like he had in 2015 with two major titles among his five wins is readily attainable. 

Even though Spieth is far off the leaderboard with 36 holes to play, his ability to bounce back after a lackluster start speaks well of his competitive drive. He gets to play the weekend, potentially finish with a flurry and continue to gain confidence with the U.S. Open (June 14) on the horizon. 

Stats via PGATour.com