Jordan Spieth surges into contention with bogey-free 62 at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson

MCKINNEY, Texas — Jordan Spieth made a quick calculation after his second round Friday at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson.

“I think it was 57,” he said.

Spieth's group, featuring Chris Kirk and Sungjae Im, had some built-in community momentum and ample good luck. Between them, the players made 19 birdies and three eagles on a still, pleasant morning north of Dallas. One of those was an ace by Im, a 5-iron from 224 yards on the par-3 seventh that rolled into the hole, banking left to right, like an inside-the-leather practice putt. Spieth called it “one of the prettiest hole-in-ones I’ve ever seen.”

Spieth accounted for nine birdies in his own round, a bogey-free effort of 9-under 62 at TPC Craig Ranch. He made six in a row on Nos. 1-6, all of them with wedges or short irons, tying a personal TOUR record and giving the 32-year-old from Dallas every reason to believe he is close to recapturing his once-dominant form. He picked up nearly four strokes on the field in putting alone, and a couple around the green. It looked and felt like a decade ago, when Spieth was winning majors and contending often. It sounded like it, too.

His post-round comments included no explanations of bad shots, because there just weren’t many. Instead, Spieth described how good he feels about his mechanics and his health. He talked about putts that caught the lip and fell. He explained, as he did so regularly in 2014 through 2016, the many good outcomes that contributed to his best round this season.

“I felt fluid,” said Spieth, a 13-time winner who made his first PGA TOUR start at this tournament in 2010, back when he was in high school at Dallas Jesuit. “I got pretty off for a long time. I’ve been trying to build it back.”

The strongest part of his game right now – the driver – was his only weakness. Spieth missed six fairways on a spacious course.

But those misses were recoverable. Spieth scrambled well, converting all four opportunities to make par after a missed green. And he holed more than 100 feet of putts.

“I know what needs to happen,” Spieth said. “But putting it all together into a fluid stroke and then being able to be outwardly focused has been the goal. I felt like last night I did a really good job out here of that being the goal, find that, and then carry it into this morning and then trust it on the course.”

Spieth shot 3-under 68 in the first round Thursday. He knew he needed to get to 5 under at a minimum to survive the cut.

He played early. He was joined on the course by family and friends – just like he was in 2010, when he tied for 16th as a spindly amateur playing on a sponsor exemption. He made one birdie, then two, turning at 5 under for the tournament. Then it felt like the hole got wider. He one-putted those six straight holes for birdie. He rose up the leaderboard like the Spieth of old.

“It’s just so nice to – it’s nice to capitalize, right?” Spieth said. “Play the hole, and you've got a wedge in your hand, you've got a shot that you see, and you're kind of thinking, I should make birdie here. It's just nice to do it, right?”