Spieth stumbles late, but still holds lead at Masters

AUGUSTA, Ga. - The birdies for Jordan Spieth in his first 52 holes of the Masters were flowing like the waters of Rae's Creek as he became only the second player in the history of this venerable event to reach 18-under par.

But golf can be a cruel game, and Spieth felt it smack him Saturday at the 17th hole of Augusta National Golf Club, where a bad drive, a bad chip, and a couple of bad putts led to a double bogey and gave hope to pursuers Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose, both major champions.

However, the 21-year-old Spieth showed grit at the 18th that may have been as impressive, if not more so, than his imposing talent. In a position to make bogey or worse after a pushed second shot, he executed a tremendous flop shot and drilled a nine-foot par putt to conclude another record-breaking day and enter Sunday in a positive frame of mind.

With a 2-under-par 70, Spieth set a Masters scoring record for the second consecutive day, completing 54 holes at 16-under 200 - one better than the record set in 1976 by Raymond Floyd and equaled in 1997 by another 21-year-old prodigy, Tiger Woods.

Woods went on to set the 72-hole record of 18-under 270, which Spieth can tie or break Sunday.

Spieth, who led by 5 shots at the start of the day and by 7 after back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16, held a 4-stroke advantage over Rose and a 5-shot edge over Mickelson. Both Rose, winner of the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion, and Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, fired 67s.

The margin would have been less had Spieth not accomplished that pitch shot out of a downhill lie at 18 and sunk the putt, which he called "one of the bigger putts I've ever hit.

"I think I took enough time looking at that chip shot to really calm myself down," he said, "and pick the right play and just trust it. When I hit the shot and went down there, I had a putt that was a little tricky. But I had full trust in it breaking to the right, and [caddie] Michael [Greller] had a great read there."

For the first 16 holes, Spieth was elusive. Before he teed off Saturday, players such as Woods and Rory McIlroy were making birdies but not making much of a dent in the lead. Despite only his second and third bogeys of the week, Spieth made the turn at 15-under and led by 5.

Back-to-back birdies at 15 and 16 - his 21st and 22d of the week - got him to 18-under and 7 strokes clear. But at 17, he hit a driver into the trees, punched a second shot short and right of the green, chunked his chip, and 3-putted for double bogey as the gallery gasped.

"Driver should never have come out of my bag at that point," he said. "I was very frustrated with that decision. I don't want decision-making to ever cost me in an event like this."

But it turned out well in the end, and Spieth has a decent cushion entering the final round, when he will play in the last group for the second straight year. Tied for the lead after 54 holes last year, he wound up tied for second, 3 shots behind Bubba Watson.

"I'll just take patience," he said. "It's about . . . setting a goal and being patient with the opportunities that are going to come my way."

Other than Rose, Mickelson, and Charley Hoffman, who shot a 71 for a 206 total, no one else appears to have a realistic chance of catching Spieth. Woods and McIlroy each fired 68s but are 10 shots back. Spieth drew Rose in the last pairing.

"There's going to be roars," Spieth said. "Phil is going to have a lot of roars in front. Tiger and Rory, well, you're going to hear something there."

Spieth hopes to keep the roars going for himself, too, as they have the first three days.