1. SPORTS SECTION
B
NEWS-JOURNAL
SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2015
ON THE POLE IN TEXAS
Kurt Busch edges defending
Sprint Cup champion Kevin
Harvick in qualifying. PAGE 3B
By BRIAN LINDER
brian.linder@news-jrnl.com
Here are three things to watch for as the
Florida Gators and the Florida State Semi-
noles hold their annual spring football games
today:
FLORIDA GATORS
1. The new coach
Sure, it’s a spring game. It’s hard to glean much
about a coach from that, but fans undoubtedly
will want to get a look at new coach, Jim McEl-
wain. It’s not like he will be making a crucial
fourth-down call against Tennessee, but it will be
interesting to get a look at the product he puts on
the field and how his team plays.
2. The youngest Taylor
Birmingham Bowl standout Adam Lane has been
limited this spring because of a hamstring injury,
so that leaves Fred Taylor’s son, Kelvin Taylor,
as the most highly rated, healthy ball carrier on
the roster. A good showing by him should help
bolster his status as Lane returns to health and
with the likes of touted freshman Jordan Scarlett
and Jordan Cronkite.
3. Eyes on the QB
Highly touted redshirt freshman Will Grier is the
man in front here, but that’s mostly because Tre-
on Harris missed a handful of practices because
of a death in the family. Those two will battle it
out for the starting spot in the fall, with Skyler
Mornhinweg as the third-teamer.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Gators, Seminoles conduct annual spring games today
Associated Press/CHARLIE RIEDEL
At 14-under 130, Jordan Spieth set the Masters 36-hole record and tied the scoring mark in a major Friday.
By MARK HERRMANN
Newsday
AUGUSTA, Ga. — The odd
thing about Jordan Spieth’s
Masters so far is he has not
been propelled by the adren-
aline of chasing history in
an awe-inspiring setting.
Just the opposite. The
darnedest part is, although
he is a mere 21 years old and
in only his second try here,
Spieth has been comfortable.
“I haven’t really felt
nervous. I’ve felt in a good
place,” he said after he shot
6-under par 66 on Friday
to finish 36 holes at Augus-
ta National at 14 under, a
record in this event and tied
for the best score at the half-
way point of any major.
His total of 130 was one
better than the mark set
by Ray Floyd in 1976, when
he was halfway to an eight-
stroke victory.
“It’s cool. Any time you
can set a record here, it
is pretty awesome,” said
Spieth, the young Texan who
finished second in his first
Masters in 2014.
Despite a bogey-free
round, making 15 birdies
in two days and holding a
five-stroke lead over Charley
Hoffman, Spieth insisted
he is just playing normally:
each hole, each shot, one by
one.
“I wasn’t trying to make a
statement or reach a certain
point. I didn’t know what
any of these scores meant
in history or anything like
that,” he said.
Spieth was trying to get
one more birdie on No. 18,
only to see his 7-foot putt
LAP THE FIELDSpieth ties major championship scoring mark at halfway point
By KEN WILLIS
ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Matt Every’s Masters
ended early. His rounds of 73 and 74
landed him with a 3-over par 147 total
Friday, one shot above the 36-hole cut
that trimmed the field to the low 50
and ties.
He left town disappointed. But,
unlike a year ago, he was feeling OK
about his overall game.
“I played well for two days. Just not
my week,” Every said, finishing in
a tie for 56th place. “It wasn’t lined
up for me to be here this weekend,
obviously.”
The changes in Every’s game in the
past year have implanted a general
left-to-right ball flight, which isn’t
the easiest way to get around Augus-
ta National.
“It’s a little harder for me than
some others,” he said of the course.
Every was hobbled early by a dou-
ble-bogey on the par-3 No. 4, where a
gusting headwind knocked down his
tee shot. A bad chip followed, leading
to a 5. He birdied No. 8 and made the
turn in even-par 36, but a bogey on
No. 11 put him back at the 2-over cut
line.
Every had a wedge in hand on the
left side of the 17th fairway, but his
approach ballooned in the wind and
Heartbreak: Every misses cut by 1
Gators Spring Game
When: 12:30 p.m. today
Where: Ben Hill Griffin
Stadium
Format: Four 12-
minute quarters with an
untimed OT period
’Noles Spring Game
When: 2 p.m. today
Where: Doak Campbell
Stadium
Format: First- and sec-
ond-team units instead
of traditional draft
MY TWO
CENTS
KEN
WILLIS
W
e all prefer drama in
our major golf cham-
pionships. Especially
at the Masters, where weekend
drama practically is written
into the tournament bylaws. In
green, of course.
With that in mind, you’d like
to see Jordan Spieth take his
foot off the gas and let one or
more of the distant chasers get
at least within an 8-iron of the
brewing rout.
There are some matinee idols
and marquee stars battling back
there in the B-Flight, and they’d
add some weight to the final two
laps around Augusta National
Golf Club, which Spieth is treat-
ing like a local muni layout.
But then there’s this: Every-
one likes Spieth. Golfers and
fans of golf undoubtedly appre-
ciate his game, but your mother
and all the older folks are quite
taken by his demeanor, which
is marked largely by an innate
humility and uncanny maturi-
ty (You want maturity? At 21,
he appears to be developing a
receding hairline).
This is why it’s OK to be torn.
On one hand, you can enjoy
Spieth’s two days of work and
probably enjoy two more, al-
though stress-induced theatrics
are expected here.
On the other, you want blood,
sweat and tears.
But if Spieth slips off the rails
and eventually coughs up the
lead, well, many layers of scar
tissue have formed on many
would-be major champions due
to lesser things.
Such a thing could set Spieth
back more than a win would
propel him. Remember, every-
one likes him. It’s a tough call
as for rooting interest. But as
always, our rooting interest will
have no bearing on the next 36
holes.
“This is only the halfway
point and I’m aware of that,”
said Spieth, who seems to have
a bottomless well of awareness.
Spieth’s rounds of 64 and
66 set a new 36-hole record at
Augusta, bettering Raymond
Floyd’s 131 in 1976, the year
Floyd rolled the field by dom-
inating the par-5s with a new
weapon — the 5-wood, which
soon would become a fixture in
golf bags worldwide.
Spieth’s five-shot lead match-
es the record for a 36-hole
spread. Floyd also led by five in
’76, and he continued his roll.
The other two men to lead by
five at the halfway stop — Jack
Nicklaus in ’75 and Herman
Keiser in ’46 — also won their
Masters. But Keiser needed Ben
Spieth
in bloom;
will it last?
TODAY’S TV: 3-7 p.m. CBS LIVE SCORES: Follow the tournament online at news-journalonline.com/sports TODAY’S TEE TIMES: Tiger Woods 1:15 p.m.; Jordan Spieth 2:55 p.m.
THE MASTERS
Every’s Second Round
SCORE: 73-74—147 (+3)
PLACE: Tied for 56th place,
missed cut
INSIDE: Hole-by-hole breakdown,
PAGE 5B
LEADERBOARD
Jordan Spieth...............-14
Charley Hoffman...........-9
Justin Rose.....................-7
Dustin Johnson..............-7
Paul Casey......................-7
ALSO
Tiger Woods...................-2
INSIDE: Scores,
notebook, PAGE 5B
DUSTIN JOHNSON
SEE MASTERS, PAGE 5BSEE WILLIS, PAGE 5B
SEE FOOTBALL, PAGE 3B
MATT
EVERY
had two
birdies, two
bogeys and a
double bogey
in shooting a
2-over 74 on
Friday, missing
the cut by
just 1 shot at
3-over 147.
Key Hole
Hole: No. 15
Yardage: 530
Par: 5
Scoring average: 4.66
Rank: 16th
The Skinny: Jordan Spieth
made his final birdie on his
way to setting a 36-hole
scoring record. Dustin
Johnson had a tap-in putt
for his third eagle of the
day, also a record.
— The Associated Press
SEE SPIETH, PAGE 5B
0002128931
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