|
 Spieth, who would match Tiger Woods with a seventh PGA win before
the age of 23 should he finish top of the leaderboard on Sunday,
putted brilliantly on greens he said were the slowest he had ever
encountered on the PGA Tour.
Boosted by a 35-foot chip-in eagle at the par-five ninth, the Texan
added seven birdies to post a 16-under 130 halfway total, with first
round leader Patrick Reed (69), Kevin Kisner (65) and Fabian Gomez
(66) tied for second on 12-under.
Spieth is also on track to beat the tournament record of 31-under
set by Ernie Els in 2003, though he said the South African's mark
was probably safe.
"I guess it's possible but that's asking a lot," Spieth told
reporters at the Kapalua Plantation course on Maui. "(Another)
16-under will be difficult to duplicate.
"I don't know if I could have scored much better these first couple
of days."
Should he lift the trophy on Sunday it would be 22-year-old's
seventh victory on the PGA Tour, matching the number achieved by
Woods before turning 23.
Only Horton Smith, who won 14 times from 1928-30, piled up more
victories by that age.
Posting his second straight bogey-free round, Spieth plundered the
par-fives, playing them in a total of five-under, and on the few
occasions he was in danger of dropping a shot his flawless
cross-handed putting came to the rescue.
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He sank testing par-savers on the 16th and 17th holes and then
finished his round in style, coaxing in a 13-foot birdie at the
par-five 18th where his ball teetered on the edge of the cup before
dropping in.
"It’s nice to have no blemishes on the card," said the Masters and
U.S. Open champion. "I started slapping it around (on) 16 and 17,
but fortunately those saves really kept us on the go and allowed me
to have that confidence on 18.
"Patience is going to be key this weekend. There’s going to be a lot
of birdies made.
"If I can continue to ... keep a blemish-free card, we're going to
be in good position."
Spieth's putting impressed former Tour player Notah Begay, who told
the Goldf Channel: "He’s putting as well as anybody ever has in the
history of the game".
(Reporting by Andrew Both in Cary, North Carolina; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
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