Augusta (US), April 11 (IANS) Star Indian golfer Anirban Lahiri carded a three-over 75 to share the 50th spot with five others after the second round of the 79th Masters Tournament, while record-breaking Jordan Spieth took a five-shot lead at the top here on Friday.
Lahiri, who scored one-under 71 in the first round on Thursday to finish tied 18th, has two-over 146 as total after the halfway stage in the Major tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club.
World No.34 Lahiri, current Asian Tour No.1, scored three bogeys on the third, fourth and sixth holes before birding the par-five eighth hole.
The back nine was more eventful for the 27-year-old. He got a bogey on the 11th and eagled the par-five 13th hole.
In the par-four 14th, he carded a double bogey, birdied the 15th and again had a bogey on the 16th before ending with two even-par efforts. He finish the round at three-over 75.
Seven-time winner on the Asian Tour Lahiri, who shared the 18th position with 12 other golfers on the first day, is the third Indian after Jeev Milkha Singh and Arjun Atwal.
Meanwhile, Spieth continued to remain on top as he followed up his stupendous eight-under 64 in the opening round with a sparkling 66.
That took his total to 14-under 130 — lowest 36-hole total in the Masters, breaking the mark set in 1976 by Raymond Floyd. It also matched the record for lowest first two rounds in any major championship.
The 21-year-old, who on Thursday got a three-shot lead, fired birdies on the second, fifth, eighth, 10th, 13th and 15th.
In addition, Spieth’s name goes into the history books for holding a five-shot lead over Charley Hoffman, matching the widest ever at Augusta National after 36 holes.
Spieth has been under par in his last 14 rounds on the PGA Tour, nine times in the 60s. He is a cumulative 75-under-par in nine events this year. Playing in only his second Masters after finishing runner-up last year, Spieth’s comfort-level continues to soar at Augusta National.
In addition to breaking Floyd’s record, Spieth equaled the lowest two-round score in Majors held by Germany’s Martin Kaymer, Brandt Snedeker and Nick Faldo.
Kaymer shot 65-65 last year in US Open, Snedeker started with 66-64 at the 2012 British Open, and Faldo opened with rounds of 66-64 in 1992 at Muirfield in The Open.
It’s cool,” Spieth told masters.com. “Any time you can set a record here is pretty awesome. I’m very excited about today and the way I struck the ball. I struck it, I thought, better than yesterday. I didn’t rely on the (good) breaks as much.
“To have one bogey through 36 holes on this track means that I’m putting well and putting from short distances well. I’ve just got to keep my head down and find greens in regulation so that I can continue to have looks.”
Hoffman, in his second Masters appearance after a three-year absence, is playing exceptional golf that is being largely lost in Spieth’s wake. Hoffman, who has a total of nine-under 135, scored four-under 69 on Friday.
Dustin Johnson also made an entry in the record books. After a double-bogey at the first from the middle of the fairway, he made eagles at the second, eighth and 15th holes — the first player ever to have three eagles in a Masters round.
He shot five-under 67. He’s in third at seven-under 137 along with Justin Rose (70) and Paul Casey (68). Phil Mickelson is alone in sixth with 138.
Defending champion Bubba Watson, World No.1 Rory McIlroy, 14-time Majors champion Tiger Woods, eight-time winner on the PGA Tour Sergio Garcia share the 19th spot with four others at two-under 142.
Among the biggies who missed the cut were eight-time Major champion Tom Watson, reigning U.S. Open champion Kaymer, seven-time winner on the PGA Tour Brandt Snedeker and 21-time winner on the European Tour Miguel Ãngel Jiménez.
The 65-year-old Tom, who won the Masters in 1977 and 1981, had scored 71 in the first round to become the oldest player to shoot a bogey-less round in the history of the tournament.
However, he played a disastrous second round of nine-over 81 that stopped his competition in the tournament.