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Palm Harbor, Fla. • Jordan Spieth holed three shots from off the green and made the cut with one shot to spare Friday in the Valspar Championship.
Now he has to figure out how to catch up to Steve Stricker and Will MacKenzie.
Stricker, playing for only the fifth time this year, holed out from the 10th fairway for eagle and made a 60-foot birdie putt across the fourth green for a 5-under 66 that gave him a share of the lead with MacKenzie, who had a 67.
They were at 5-under 137, one shot ahead of Bill Haas (67), Graham DeLaet (66) and Daniel Berger (68).
Stricker began to cut back on his schedule a few years ago, and he had back surgery at the end of 2014 that limited his playing even more. But the strength is starting to return to the 49-year-old with the pure putting stroke, and he has looked solid for two days.
Stricker was tied for the lead early on Thursday until three straight bogeys late in his round. This time, he took the eagle and keep running, adding a short birdie putt on the par-5 14th and a 10-foot birdie on the 16th hole to catch MacKenzie.
The large group at 3-under 139 included Justin Thomas, who hit a sharp slice to escape the trees on his first hole of the day (No. 10) and turned potential bogey into birdie on his way to a 67. Also at 139 were Augusta, Georgia, native Scott Brown (69), who has yet to play the Masters; past champion Retief Goosen and Charles Howell III, another Augusta native who had a 72.
Only eight shots separated the top and bottom of the leaderboard, leaving the weekend wide open.
That includes Spieth, the defending champion, whose first goal was get to Saturday. It wasn't easy, but he settled into his round with a 6-iron over the water to 5 feet on the third hole.
He lost an easy birdie opportunity on the par-5 11th when he barely got out of a greenside bunker and was in deep rough. But he holed a 4-foot par putt that could have sent his momentum in the other direction, and despite missed birdie chances on the next three holes, the chip-in on the 15th was key.
Among those missing the cut were Keegan Bradley, who followed his 67 with a 79. It was more critical to Harris English and Webb Simpson, who were outside the top 66 in the world and will not qualify for the Dell Match Play in two weeks. —
Friday's results
Valspar Championship
At Innisbrook Resort, Copperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Purse: $6.1 million
Yardage • 7,340 Par • 71 (36-35)
Second Round
a-amateur
Will MacKenzie 70-67 — 137 -5
Steve Stricker 71-66 — 137 -5
Daniel Berger 70-68 — 138 -4
Graham DeLaet 72-66 — 138 -4
Bill Haas 71-67 — 138 -4
Scott Brown 70-69 — 139 -3
Retief Goosen 70-69 — 139 -3
Ryan Moore 70-69 — 139 -3
Justin Thomas 72-67 — 139 -3
Charles Howell III 67-72 — 139 -3
Jerry Kelly 70-69 — 139 -3
George McNeill 74-66 — 140 -2
Ken Duke 67-73 — 140 -2
Sung Kang 72-68 — 140 -2
K.J. Choi 74-67 — 141 -1
Matt Kuchar 71-70 — 141 -1
Cameron Smith 70-71 — 141 -1
Jamie Lovemark 70-71 — 141 -1
Steve Wheatcroft 73-68 — 141 -1
Charl Schwartzel 71-70 — 141 -1
Patrick Reed 71-70 — 141 -1
Charley Hoffman 69-72 — 141 -1
Henrik Stenson 71-70 — 141 -1
Seung-Yul Noh 71-71 — 142 E
Danny Lee 70-72 — 142 E
Louis Oosthuizen 72-70 — 142 E
Tyler Aldridge 70-72 — 142 E
Kyle Stanley 73-69 — 142 E
Kevin Na 74-68 — 142 E
Danny Willett 70-72 — 142 E
John Huh 71-71 — 142 E
Greg Yates 69-73 — 142 E
Also :
Jordan Spieth 76-68 — 144 +2
Daniel Summerhays 71-73 — 144 +2
Missed cut
Tony Finau 73-73 — 146 +4
Keegan Bradley 67-79 — 146 +4
Mike Weir 74-73 — 147 +5
Zac Blair 76-78 — 154 +12