PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Jordan Spieth knew the pin position on the ninth hole at Spyglass Hill as much by memory as by sight, which was a good thing considering the fog creeping across the Monterey Peninsula on Friday.
The crowd behind the green couldn't see Spieth, only a golf ball that landed behind the flag and spun back 3 feet below the cup. Spieth tapped that in for his eighth birdie of the round and a 7-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Spieth was at 10-under 133.
Derek Fathauer was 8 under for his round at Pebble Beach and tied with Spieth at 10 under. Fathauer will return this morning to finish his round on the ninth hole. The bigger threat might be Jason Day, the world's No. 1 player, who was 7 under through 12 holes at Spyglass when play was stopped. Day was at 9 under.
Patrick Reed, who withdrew two weeks ago from the European Tour event in Australia next week because of a respiratory infection, was at 7 under and had one hole to play at Monterey Peninsula.
Spieth mainly was thrilled that he finished just before the horn sounded to suspend play again, this time for fog.
It's hard to know where anyone stands until three rounds are completed, let alone when only 33 out of 154 players were done with the second round. Spieth only knew that his swing was dialed in and his putter — the most dangerous club in his bag — was coming around.
"I didn't feel any nerves out there, even though I knew I was toward the lead, just because so much could happen with three courses," he said. "The first two rounds, it's been easy. Tomorrow might feel a little different. But in my opinion, I'm at 10 under now. If I can try and just make two (birdies) a side at Pebble Beach each time, and make up for the bogeys with maybe another birdie, it may be good enough."
The sun, rarely seen this week, is supposed to be make an appearance this weekend. Spieth and Day will play Pebble the final two rounds, and it typically is the easiest when the weather is benign.
What helped Spieth was going off in the third group at Spyglass and having what he considers the best greens on the rotation.
He picked up birdies on both par 3s on the back nine, had a two-putt birdie on a par 5 and made the turn in 4 under to take the lead. Then, he started to get hot with the putter. Spieth rolled in a 12-footer on No. 2, a 25-footer on No. 4 and he saved par with a 15-footer after finding a bunker on the par-3 fifth.
The most flush shot he hit all day might have been with the putter.
Spieth barely reached the front of the green on No. 6, leaving him a 60-foot putt up the hill on a soft, spongy green, Dustin Johnson was right next to him after his approach pitched 3 feet from the hole and rolled all the way back.
Johnson hit his putt so hard that he said, "I thought it was going into the crowd."
"Second row," Spieth said in agreement.
It was still 5 feet short.
Spieth followed with what he thinks might be the hardest he ever swung a putter, and it stopped a few inches from going in. He wasn't so fortunate from the front of the eighth green, a similar putt up a ridge that he left 15 feet short. It led to his only bogey.
That birdie on the ninth was a good way to finish. Spieth had to wait to see how Day finished at Spyglass Hill. That was the mostly likely the only chance of anyone catching him going into the weekend.
Day's fortunes turned on the par-5 seventh, which began a streak of four straight birdies. Only the fog delay stopped him.
Seung-Yul Noh was at 7 under with five holes, including a par 5, still to play at Pebble Beach. Pat Perez, who had to withdraw last week when he felt his surgically repaired shoulder acting up, was at 6 under at Monterey Peninsula with the par-3 ninth and its devilish green still to play.
A pair of two-time Pebble winners were still in the mix. Brandt Snedeker was at 5 under with four holes remaining at Spyglass, while Johnson shot 69 and was at 4-under 139 heading to Pebble Beach with Spieth.
Spieth will not tee off until noon, with plenty of players and footprints ahead of him.
Browne shoots 63 to take Champions Tour lead
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Olin Browne had eight birdies in a nine-hole stretch and shot a 9-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the PGA Champions Tour's Allianz Championship.
Browne birdied Nos. 17-2 and 4-7 on The Old Course at Broken Sound Club in the round that began on No. 10. He birdied all four par-5 holes in the bogey-free round.
Kenny Perry was two strokes back. He eagled the par-5 first.
Fred Couples eagled the par-5 11th in a 68. He's playing in Florida for the first time since the 2006 Honda Classic. At age 71, Hale Irwin shot a 68 to better his age for the 19th time on the tour.
Bernhard Langer opened with a 71, making a double bogey on the par-4 ninth. The 59-year-old German star is coming off a victory in the season-opener in Hawaii, his 30th career victory on the PGA Tour Champions.
Wiesberger rides birdie binge to Malaysian lead
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Bernd Wiesberger put on a clinic with his irons to lead Danny Willett by one stroke halfway through the Maybank Championship.
Wiesberger has been on a hot streak, and the Austrian came to life at Saujana club from the par-4 seventh hole to notch nine consecutive birdies of his 11 overall.
That haul stands as the longest birdie run of the year, despite two bogeys.
Wiesberger finished tied for second at the British Masters in October, and followed that with three consecutive fourth-place finishes at the Turkish Airlines Open, the World Tour Championship, and Abu Dhabi Championship.
Willett finished the second round with a 67.
David Lipsky of the U.S. (67) and the surprising Michael Lorenzo-Vera of France (65) finished the day tied for third, three shots behind Wiesberger.
Woods pulls out of next 2 tournaments with back issues
Tiger Woods is pulling out of his next two tournaments because of ongoing back problems.
Woods said on his website Friday that his doctors have advised him not to play so he can continue treatment on his back. He withdrew after a 77 in the first round in Dubai with what he described as back spasms.
Woods was scheduled to play at Riviera next week in Los Angeles for the first time since 2006. He also was to play the Honda Classic the following week near his home in Florida.
Woods was out of golf for 15 months while recovering from three back surgeries. He was 15th in an 18-man field in the Bahamas in December, then missed the cut at Torrey Pines and lasted only one round in Dubai.
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