Spieth two back, Molder keeps lead at rain-delayed Colonial

Mother Nature dominated the pace of play Friday at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational, forcing the second round to begin with a 5  1/2 -hour weather delay.

But when the rain clouds parted at Colonial Country Club, the leader board remained in control of Bryce Molder for a second consecutive day because of a second consecutive stellar front-nine performance.

Molder, the first-round leader, reached 9-under par through 15 holes in Friday’s second round before play was suspended because of darkness at 8:21 p.m. Molder put himself atop the leader board by posting a bogey-free 30 on the front-nine holes, making him 11 under on Colonial’s front nine in his first two rounds.

“That side has been really good to me,” Molder said as he left the course.

But he must return at 7:30 a.m. Saturday as one of 61 competitors needing to complete suspended second rounds before anyone is acknowledged as the official tournament leader through 36 holes at this week’s PGA Tour event.

At this point, the lowest total by anyone who has completed two rounds belongs to Webb Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion. Simpson stands at 8 under after a second-round 67, one stroke ahead of Dallas resident Jordan Spieth.

Spieth, the No. 2 player in the world golf rankings, fired a second-round 66 to reach 7 under and declared himself back in his comfort zone with his golf swing after struggling during weekend rounds at last week’s AT&T Byron Nelson.

“I feel really, really good over the ball right now. I’m stress-free again,” said Spieth, who was credited with hitting 14 of 18 greens in regulation for a second consecutive round at Colonial but insisted that it seemed like more.

“I think I hit 18 greens today,” Spieth said, citing a couple of instances where he putted from off the green that, in his mind, should not qualify as missed greens. He also mixed in a pair of sand saves during a six-birdie, two-bogey round. But regardless of the statistical analysis, the bottom line shows Spieth in contention for a Colonial title heading into the weekend rounds after finishing as a runner-up in Fort Worth last year.

Asked about feeling a home-field advantage at the DFW tour stops, Spieth said: “Yeah, it’s really nice. I can’t thank the DFW area and my fans enough. It is nice coming to a track like Colonial Country Club, a course that everyone really seems to love. I love it, and to have the fans on my side as well makes it a really special week.”

Simpson, who missed the cut in both of his prior Colonial appearances (2009, 2010), put himself safely within the cut line with Friday’s four-birdie, one-birdie effort that unfolded on rain-softened greens. Simpson needed only 28 putts to complete his journey, a performance he credited to a new putter that has boosted his confidence on the greens in Fort Worth.

“Once I get confidence, I seem to be really confident. Once I get a little down, I seem to get really down,” said Simpson, who has needed only 55 putts in his first two rounds. “Through two days, the putting has been solid. So I’m excited.”

Simpson said he was pleasantly surprised that the rain-softened Colonial layout, which Spieth described as “gettable,” remained as firm and fast as he found it after Friday’s rain delay.

“Honestly, it was not that different,” Simpson said. “We’re still seeing the ball run off the tee. The greens are maybe a little softer. But the grounds crew did a great job and got it back to about what we saw [in Thursday’s opening round].”

As golfers left the course Friday night, the threesome with the most remaining holes to play in the second round included Fort Worth resident Martin Piller, who stands at 5 under with 12 holes to play.

Tour officials project the cut will fall at 2-over 142 if competitors on the course continue at their current pace in the second round. That puts lots of notable players in danger of missing the cut.

Among those who have completed 36 holes and probably will not reach the weekend rounds are Boo Weekley, the 2013 Colonial champ (3 over); Bryson DeChambeau (3 over); and Fort Worth resident Franklin Corpening (4 over), a former TCU golfer.

Also in danger are past major champions Jim Furyk (3 over), Louis Oosthuizen (4 over), Keegan Bradley (4 over), Stewart Cink (7 over), Angel Cabrera (8 over) and Geoff Ogilvy (9 over).

Molder departed the course Friday after bagging five front-nine birdies and a double bogey at No. 12, where he drove into the right rough, hit his next shot into the left rough and missed the green with his approach.

But he buried birdie putts from 12 feet (No. 1), 18 feet (No. 2), 2 feet (No. 5) and 3 feet (No. 7), along with holing a 25-foot bunker blast for birdie at No. 8, to sleep on the Colonial lead for a second consecutive night.

“I’ve always found it actually easier when you have these delays because it doesn’t feel like I’ve got the lead,” Molder said. “It’s only the second round, so that’s still way too early to really feel like I’m sitting on the lead.”

This story was originally published May 27, 2016 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Spieth two back, Molder keeps lead at rain-delayed Colonial."