Spieth Lurks at The Australian

After the hellfire of Thursday, it was a more pleasant Friday. And Jordan Spieth found it to his liking.

The world No. 1 is lurking at the Emirates Australian Open going into the weekend after he followed an opening-round 71 with a three-under par 68 today.

He is just four shots back from the lead held by hometown boy Matt Jones at seven-under par.

In his customary manner, the Texan picked his way around The Australian today, starting with a bombed birdie putt at the first hole. He made another birdie from mid-range at the par-three fourth hole, then another bomb at the par-four seventh and by the time he got up-and-down from beside the green at the par-five 14th hole to pick up another shot, he was within sight of the lead set up by Jones early in the day.

But Spieth tripped up at the 15th, sailing long and left and hitting a poor chip back to make his first bogey, then raged at himself (and possibly caddie Michael Greller) after a flared second shot at the par-four 16th. Another bogey set him back, but he cleaned up with two pure strikes at the par-five 18th for a fifth birdie of an excellent day.

He could be immensely difficult to stop at the weekend. Already the tournament has echoes of 2014, when he plotted his way through the field before exploding with a final-round 63.

Spieth said that for the second day in a row, the fluky winds made life difficult.

"It's the cross winds,'' he said. "It's a guessing game. You really have a 50-50 shot. We got less than 50 percent of it right today which is frustrating, because I really was striking the ball well. It was a round where I could have shot six or seven-under. I just didn't have any chances. A lot of shots were right at the pin, shots like nine and 10. In the middle of the round there I could've got something going.

"I saved myself when I got it wrong, but boy, it could've been. That's what was frustrating for me, because I finally felt that I got into a nice rhythm. I was hitting fairways, giving myself nice opportunities but we really couldn't gauge the wind. We couldn't gauge whether it was helping or hurting.''

Photos From the 2015 Emirates Australian Open

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  "I just told him that was one of the best-fought wins I've ever seen, to come through what he did on 2, 9 and then that par he made on 12," Jordan said about Matt Jones' performance on Sunday

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  Jordan reacts to his second shot on the 72nd hole of the tournament. It would give him an eagle putt attempt to win, or extend, the Emirates Australian Open

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  Jordan and Michael celebrate the day's turnaround

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  Jordan reacts after holing his approach shot. He would add a tap-in birdie on 18 to go three-under on the final two holes

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  As the TV announcers noted, his shot was on the flag the entire way, and you could tell from his body language while the ball was in the air that he really liked it

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  After bogeys on three of the first four holes, Jordan said that a talk with his caddie helped him refocus. "He said: 'Enough of this crap. No bad self-talk. Let's hit some greens, you've got some easy holes coming up'. That's all I really needed to hear to help turn it around.''
  

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  After a three-under round of 68, Jordan remains four back from second round leader Matt Jones

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  Jordan acknowledges the crowd after his birdie putt on the seventh hole

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  For the second day in a row, the fluky winds made life difficult for Jordan. "It's the cross winds,'' he said. "It's a guessing game. You really have a 50-50 shot."

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  In blustery conditions reminiscent of 2014, the Masters and U.S. Open champion made three birdies and three bogeys in what he called “pretty boring golf”

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  Jordan hits his approach shot on the 12th hole

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  "It’s been a while since I’ve played in wind like this. The toughest part is deciding what shot to hit. It’s hard to pick the shot. You can use the same club and end up with a 30-yards difference based on if you hold the ball up or ride the wind," Jordan said after his opening round

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  Jordan eyes the ball after his bunker shot in the Wednesday pro-am

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  Jordan and Australian cricket legend Shane Warne check out a cricket bat on the first tee of the pro-am

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  Jordan hosted a golf clinic for 60 junior Australian golfers ahead of the 2015 Emirates Australian Open

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  The camera caught a pretty funny moment when Jordan attempted a flop shot. Watch the video

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  The clinic was sponsored by Under Armour Australia and Golf Australia

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  In his comments to the press after his practice round, Jordan talked about playing the sand belt courses in Australia. Read more

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  Jordan and his coach, Cameron McCormick, talk over the course

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  A focused Jordan returns to defend his title at The Australia Golf Course, home of the 2015 Emirates Australia Open

Jordan returns to The Australia Golf Course in Sydney to defend the title that sparked a golden year