Saturday 11 April 2015

Masters 2015 - Can Anyone Catch Spieth?

Record breaker Jordan Spieth seems impossible to catch right now, after hitting an all time low of 130 over the first 2 days. In our preview we warned people to look out for him, but I'm not sure anyone expected him to produce such a brilliant display, and to leave everyone else so far behind. Can anyone catch him? We'll look at the guys in the field that still stand a slim chance, never rule out the chance of a comeback, you only need to look at McIlroy's collapse a few years ago to realise that this isn't over just yet, there is a lot of golf left to play.



Charley Hoffman (-9)


Not tipped by anyone in the run-up to this year's competition, the 38 year old Charley Hoffman is competing in just his second Masters, and sits in second place on 10 under, not many thought he could repeat his first day heroics, but the level-headed American is playing some of his best golf out there at Augusta, and is the only guy putting real pressure on Spieth. Many were expecting him to peter out, given his lack of experience at majors, but Hoffman hasn't let the occasion get to his head so far. We do expect him to slow down somewhat, having never seen him keep up this level of golf before, but if he keeps knocking the ball in for par and the occasional birdie, Spieth may just feel the pressure, and we could be in for a tight finish. 



Justin Rose (-7)


One of our men to watch, along with Spieth, Justin Rose had a good first day, ending at 5 under, and then a pretty poor start to the second and a worrying amount of bogeys were creeping in to his game. But he pulled it back and regained his form, unfortunately it isn't the form that is likely to see him storming ahead of Spieth, but it could be enough for him to be in contention if Spieth's shots start to go awry. 



Paul Casey (-7)


Another Englishman in the mix, Paul Casey is showing his better form, proving himself to once again be one of the best golfers in the world. We know he has the quality, we've seen it on various occasions, just not for a while. Now however he is back to looking very good out there, and, like Justin, is unlikely to go charging ahead with a miracle day of -10 or so, but if he can keep building on his score and keep ticking along, then he is a possible winner if Spieth makes mistakes.



Dustin Johnson (-7)


Dustin appears to be displaying an understanding for the course now, after a double bogey to start yesterday he replied with two eagles, and the more time he spends on that course the more acclimatised he appears to be come, and he could have a couple of big days ahead of him and start to push on from here. His power has really helped him command the par 5s, he went 7 under just on the par 5s yesterday, and he is probably the player best positioned and most likely to challenge Spieth. His understanding of the course is a good sign for the remainder of this Masters, but a better sign for future Masters, where we could be seeing him leading by this stage.



Kevin Na (-4)


A great second day for Na after a +2 first day, he ended up -6 under for the second day setting up a good weekend. He, like Johnson, appears to be developing more of an understanding for the course, and if he can have 2 more days similar to this one then Spieth might just get nervous.



Phil Mickelson (-6)


Phil is always up there, and his 4 under round yesterday showed improvement on a slightly underwhelming first day. Given his experience compared to the rest of the challengers, and his Masters pedigree, it would be foolish not to think he is one of the better placed players to possibly challenge Spieth, although challenging Spieth is in itself a very difficult thing to imagine.



Honourable mentions:

Ernie Els (-5) - a great first day for the veteran, but evens on the second day, seemed to slow down. He has never won the competition before, and on the evidence shown yesterday he almost certainly won't this year.

Tiger Woods (-2) - much improved, and great to see him under 70 with a smile on his face, but he won't challenge. What a story it would be though.

Bubba Watson (-2) - the reigning champ has a love hate relationship with Augusta, his best position, other than winning it, is tied 20th, and it looks like he'll end up around there once again.

Rory McIlroy (-2) - he was really struggling out there on the front 9, but clawed his way back on the back to get something out of the day. If he goes on to win this it will have to be two of his best rounds of golf, but realistically he is going to have to wait another year to attempt to complete his career grand slam.


Who Is Most Likely To Catch Spieth?






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