George Willis

George Willis

Sports

With chance at history, Jordan Spieth keeps his cool

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Hopefully those shedding tears over Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson not being around for a Masters weekend have stopped crying long enough to witness the arrival of Jordan Spieth.

Who said the 78th Masters was going to be boring without golf’s two biggest names not playing for another green jacket? Who said there would be nothing to captivate the general sporting public?

Turns out this Masters is headed for a dramatic finish that could be historic if the 20-year-old Spieth can accomplish what Woods did in 1997 and become the youngest player ever to win the Masters. How’s that for must-see TV?

Spieth posted a 2-under par 70 on a difficult sun-baked day to earn his way into the final pairing with 2012 Masters champion Bubba Watson. They share the lead at 5-under par with 12 players within four shots. Up to now, Spieth has displayed an uncanny mixture of aggression and poise to go along with his immense talent.

But trying to win in his first Masters will offer the kind of pressure and unexpected twists Spieth can’t predict.

“[Sunday] is about seeing how I can control my game and emotions out on a golf course against guys who have even won here recently,” he said. “I’m very confident in the way things are going and I’m very confident going into [Sunday].”

Experience is supposed to mean something at the Masters. It’s supposed to take a while for someone to learn all the nuances of Augusta National, like where to hit it and where to miss it. That’s why it has been 35 years since Fuzzy Zoeller was the last rookie to win the Masters.

“It’s pretty amazing,” said Matt Kuchar, who is one-shot back at 4-under. “You hear commentary that experience has a lot to do with playing well here. It definitely helps. That makes it even more amazing what Jordan Spieth is doing in his first tournament.”

Starting the day at 3-under par and four-shots behind Watson, Spieth made an early statement by draining a 15-footer for birdie on the par-4 third hole. He would bogey the par-4 fourth before getting that back with a birdie at the par-3 6th.

A bogey at the par-4 11th after an errant tee shot might have signaled trouble, but Spieth pared his way through Amen Corner before making back-to-back birdies at the par-4 14th and the par-5 15th. He reached the 17th and 18th in regulation and two-putted to make the final group on Sunday. Watson struggled to a 2-over-par 74.

“My putter feels great and that’s led to a lot of confidence in the rest of my game,” Spieth said. “I can take a lot of positives out of today. I wanted to get into contention and see how I could perform on a Sunday. That’s still yet to come.”

Woods never was really threatened in 1997 when he became the youngest player — at age 21 — to win the Masters. Spieth will have to outduel a bunched leaderboard filled with proven winners, including Watson, Kuchar, Ricky Fowler (3-under) , Lee Westwood (2-under) and Jim Furyk (2-under).

Jonas Blixt, a 29-year-old Masters rookie from Sweden, is also in the mix at 4-under, as is European Tour veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez (3-under).

Spieth has made the most of the local knowledge he received from Jack Nicklaus, Ben Crenshaw and Crenshaw’s caddie Carl Jackson. But he will have to deal on his own with the pressure, the roars and the highs and lows of a Masters Sunday.

“I’m not nervous right now,” he said late Saturday. “I’m sure I will be throughout the entire round [Sunday]. I’m just very pleased with my entire team and how everyone has done their job up to now.”

History could be made at the Masters on Sunday. What more could anyone have asked for?