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Day, Spieth Find their Footing at Demanding Bethpage Black

Barclays Tourament Bethpage Black

By John Dundon

As round two of The Barclays wraps up, some of the favorites coming into the tournament have begun to find their swings.

Jason Day and Jordan Spieth’s rounds looked a lot different, but yielded the same result. While Day opened the round by birdieing five of his first seven holes, Spieth started off with a double-bogey on his first hole—a potential sign of a tough day ahead.

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“It’s moments like on the 11th tee box where I really credit Michael (the caddie) a lot for stepping in and being a positive voice. Finally, I noticed that I was just angry,” Spieth said after the round.

After an inconsistent round one, in which Spieth bogeyed thrice on the back nine, an attitude adjustment was required. Spieth’s frustration was noticeable from behind the spectator ropes.

“On 17, I started smiling going to 18, and that was the difference maker,” Spieth said.

In the end, Spieth finished the day 4-under, leaving him right in the thick of things heading into the weekend. He lit it up on the front-nine, where the majority of the scoring has taken place through the first two rounds.

On the contrary, Day did a good job of taking what the Black would give him and not getting too high or too low emotionally. That was something that the current leader in the chase for the FedEx Cup stressed yesterday when asked about his round.

“This week is not only going to be physical, but it’s going to test the mental strength that you have and see how far you can actually push yourself through,” Day told members of the media after his round on Thursday.

Make no mistake about it though, the Black is as physically demanding golf course as any. One of the talking points amongst those competing? The long walks from hole to hole.

“It’s definitely a bit of a walk,” Day said.

The Australia-born Day scorched the front-nine, vaulting himself near the top of the leaderboard.

Phil Mickelson continues to be this Long Island-based crowd’s favorite golfer. One wonders whether the attention had gotten to the lefty early in round two, Phil’s first time this weekend playing the late afternoon slot where, generally, far more spectators are present. Phil three-putted what was originally a more than makeable birdie attempt—very uncharacteristic of Mickelson.

There will be no shortage of storylines heading into the weekend, as all of the major names participating are in line to make the cut.

One thing is for sure, after last summer where seemingly every major tournament saw a combination of Day, Spieth, or both duking it out on Sunday, we may be in line for such a treat yet again.

(Featured photo credit: PGA Tour/ Facebook)