Leaderboard: Round 3 at TPC Boston

Langer ties Nicklaus with 8 senior major titles

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FORT WORTH, Texas — It was just a bogey putt from inside 5 feet. Yet Jordan Spieth walked it in – and the whole complexion of his second round, perhaps even his entire weekend, perhaps even his entire two weeks in his home state of Texas, changed. Starting Friday’s round off the 10th tee, the defending champ had already suffered two bogeys in his first four holes and was guaranteed of another lost stroke at the par-4 14th, having failed to get up-and-down from the greenside rough. The last thing he wanted to do was three-putt the green and walk away with a potentially crippling double bogey. So he called in caddie Michael Greller to help him read the putt. Spieth and Greller had recently tried to stay away from the constant back-and-forth analysis of shots and let Spieth free-flow a little more. “We’ve been working to kind of stay out of each other’s business,â€� Spieth explained. “ … Trying to go back to kind of an ‘I play my game’ and stop over-dissecting kind of each situation. Talk less and just hit the shots.â€� But this putt was too important. A second set of eyes could help. Greller provided his thoughts and helped Spieth commit to the line. Then he told Spieth to hit the putt with confidence and walk it in – which he did. “It was kind of shocking because it was a bogey putt to go to 3 over, and no one really walks those in,â€� Spieth said. “It was exactly what I needed to get the confidence that I’ve been working towards back in that putter. From there, I hit great putts the rest of the round.â€� Indeed. Spieth rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt at the next hole, made a 10-footer to save par at the 18th, then made four birdies in the next five holes after the turn. Two of those birdies were from distance – 27 feet at the fourth hole, and 13-1/2 feet at the fifth. Spieth finished with a 2-under 68, one of the better rounds in the morning wave, which leaves him at 2 under for the tournament. Worried just a few hours earlier whether he miss the cut for the third straight start (including last week at his hometown event, the AT&T Byron Nelson), Spieth now enters the weekend with a realistic shot at becoming the first defending champ to win since Ben Hogan in 1953. “I played 5-under on my last 13 holes,â€� Spieth said. “That’s the round of the day. That’s what we needed to see. …“That would’ve been really, really tough for me to swallow if I missed this cut. It was in my head. I normally never talk about the cut line, and it was in my head, given I don’t miss two cuts in a row. So back is against the wall. To be able to come back – definitely a lot of confidence.â€� One thing Spieth definitely wants to avoid this weekend, though, is getting off to a slow start. On Thursday, he bogeyed two of his first four holes in a rollercoaster afternoon that ended with an even-par 70. The stress after Friday’s first five holes was even more pronounced. He survived only because he did something he had never done before in his Colonial history – play holes 1 through 5 (that include the Horrible Horseshoe of Nos. 3, 4 and 5) in 4 under. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that,â€� Spieth said. “I don’t think I’ve ever been 2-under on those holes.â€� He’ll gladly take that on Saturday.

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WILMINGTON, N.C. – Francesco Molinari resumed pole position while FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson barely made the cut as players completed their second rounds at the weather-delayed Wells Fargo Championship at Eagle Point Golf Club early Saturday morning. Molinari went 1 under for his seven holes, bogeying his last — the difficult, par-4 ninth — to card an even-par 72. He was at 6 under, one ahead of Billy Hurley III (69), Seamus Power (71), who finished Friday, and John Peterson, who played his last six holes in even par Saturday. “I managed to stay patient, just keep doing my thing,” Molinari said. “Holed a couple of nice putts, 17 and 18 last night, and then played well at the restart this morning. So, obviously, I’m pleased with where I am at the moment.” MORE: Live leaderboard | Third-round tee times | Weather Hub Rookie Jon Rahm, who is fourth in the FedExCup standings and finished his second-round 71 on Friday, was part of a large group of eight players at 4 under par, just two back. The 68 players who hadn’t completed their second rounds were in position by 7:30 a.m. and the horn blew to resume play in calm, cool conditions—much more benign than the day before. Although the attendance at Eagle Point has been robust, most people were still pouring their coffee and buttering their toast as Johnson stood on the 14th tee to resume his second round in the early-morning chill. He made a routine par, his birdie putt barely sliding by the cup, and birdied the par-3 15th hole. At that point he was 1 under par and going in the right direction. Over the next two holes, however, Johnson seemed to show the rust accumulated since he hurt his lower back falling down a flight of stairs the Wednesday of Masters week. Johnson blew his drive way right and bogeyed 16, and badly hooked his wedge approach to bogey 17, too. When he failed to birdie the par-5 finisher, Johnson could take comfort only in the fact that he had 36 more holes to figure it out as he goes for his fourth victory in his last four starts. His second-round 75 left him at 1 over, just good enough to make the cut, and ended his streak of 13 straight rounds of even par or better in stroke-play tournaments. He was seven behind. Adam Scott also barely made the cut at 1 over par. Phil Mickelson, who was disappointed in his double-bogey finish Friday to shoot 72, is at 1 under par overall and five off the lead. He is making his 20th PGA TOUR start in North Carolina, where he has never won. There are 43 players under par and within five of the lead going into the last 36 holes.

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