FORT WORTH, Texas _ Jordan Spieth called it a 20-minute hiccup.
Anybody who's played Colonial Country Club can relate when it comes to the famed "Horrible Horseshoe." Spieth's brilliant round with six birdies on the first 11 holes suddenly flew off track during Day 2 of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday.
Spieth, who started off No. 10, four-putted for a double-bogey on No. 3. He missed two putts from less than 3 feet. He then bogeyed the par-3 fourth, hitting it wide right and failing to get up-and-down.
But Spieth salvaged that stretch by draining a 17-footer for birdie on No. 5, typically the hardest hole on the course. He had another birdie on No. 6 and posted his second straight 5-under 65.
Spieth sits at 10-under for the tournament, one shot back of the early leader in the clubhouse Harold Varner III (11-under) going into the weekend.
"I played a really, really solid round of golf with a 20-minute hiccup for a couple holes," said Spieth, a Dallas native. "With eight birdies around this place, it's nothing to complain about. I'm obviously very pleased with the position I'm in after two rounds."
Spieth was happy with himself on how he stayed "very neutral" during his meltdown on Nos. 3 and 4. He didn't beat himself up too much over the four-putt _ his first four-putt during the Colonial and the ninth of his PGA Tour career.
And No. 4 has been playing as the most difficult hole early on this week.
"I felt that I gave myself some grace to say, look, I haven't really been practicing a ton of those kind of short-range putts," Spieth said. "Those are ones where you just have a ton of them when you're playing in competition but you're picking them up a lot of times when you're playing regular rounds of golf at home.
"That's really all it was. No. 4 is a hard hole. I just hit a not-so-great 240-yard shot, so that bogey I didn't think much of."
Salvaging a birdie on No. 5 to end the difficult three-hole stretch is something Spieth will take into the weekend. He hopes to capitalize and win his first tournament since the 2017 British Open.
"I don't know what the lead is going to be at the end of the day, but I'm happy with where I'm sitting and looking forward to the battle with some of the greatest players in the game for the next two days," Spieth said.
Along with Spieth and Varner, big-time players have positioned themselves right in the mix going into the weekend. Rory McIlroy, the world's top-ranked player, fired a 7-under 63 on Friday and is tied for third at 9-under along with Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.
Justin Thomas, the fourth-best player in the world, is within striking distance at 8-under.
The leaderboard, as expected with 16 of the top 20 players in the field, is loaded with established stars and rising stars.
"From watching from afar, this is a golf course that's always let the best players rise to the top," McIlroy said. "You have to be in complete control of your game, hit fairways, hit greens, convert some putts. Yeah, the leaderboard is a who's-who of golf right now. I'm just happy to be in the mix."
Added Thomas: "The leaderboard speaks for itself. A lot of big names up there, not that everybody playing isn't a big name, but some of the top players in the world. That's a testimony to a good course and a good setup, so hopefully we'll give them some fireworks this weekend to watch at home."
