Jordan Spieth (Broke Ray Floyd’s 1976 record of 13-under 131)
“I have been on my game and coming to a place that I love”
“It’s special to be here and just be in the tournament let alone out front.
“I just need to keep my head down, set a goal for myself. It’s definitely going to be more challenging and I am going to have to be aware of that and be okay with a bogey or two.
“I pretty much made everything that was in a decent range today. All in all it was two very similar days – putting the ball well and taking my chances. I felt the swing felt natural today and I’ll keep working on it.”
Ernie Els (Nine adrift of the superb Spieth)
“Jordan is playing unbelievably well and obviously we’re all watching the leaderboard.
“He’s special.
“Nothing stands out, because he does everything well. He’s going to be tough to beat.
“But we know how far there is to go. Front runners tend to do well here, but there have been some really good comebacks, so it’s a big weekend ahead.
“He’s not thinking about anything right now and that’s a great place to be at.”
“I’d really like to shoot two 67s and see where that leaves me. That’d make me 15 under and that’s about as good as a man can do.
“If it keeps blowing like this and the nerves get going… I don’t want to wish badly on anyone but if he takes his foot off the gas or has a bad break here and there, it really gives you thought of catching him.”
Colin Montgomerie (On Rory McIlroy’s pushing ‘too hard’)
“You can’t go big at The Masters.”
Tiger Woods (Broke 70 at Augusta National for the first time since the final round in 2011)
“I am very proud of what I’ve done, to be able to dig it out the way I have.
“I was at a pretty low one in my career, but to basically change an entire pattern like that and put it together and put it in a position where I can compete in a major championship like this is something I’m very proud of.
“I’m still right there. I’m 12 back, but there’s not a lot of guys ahead of me. And with 36 holes here to go, anything can happen. ’96 proved that.”
Danny Willett (Followed up a first round 71 with the same score)
“This week has been everything I’ve dreamed of and more.
“It’s fantastic and the amount of people here is phenomenal. The atmosphere and the roars are incredible.
“I’ve not just scraped over the cut line but I’m up there quite nicely and it’s the position I wanted to be in.
“Take away Spieth and Charley Hoffman and I’m only three or four back, so I’m really, really pleased.”
I am very proud of what I’ve done, to be able to dig it out the way I have. Graeme McDowell (Made the cut despite a second round 74)
“I continued to drive it like a wally.
“I’m not sure what’s going on with the driver, it’s one of my strengths normally. I drove the ball terribly the last few days so to make the cut from there, I’m pretty happy with that.
“It’s nice to be here for the weekend, get another couple of rounds under my belt and keep building for the rest of the season. Of course I’d love a big finish, but I need rounds, I need reps, I need to see shots.”
Darren Clarke (The Ryder Cup captain shot a one-under 71)
“I want to compete and put some scores on the board.
“I’ve been playing better of late so I just need to keep on doing what I’m doing.
“Augusta is always tough, it’s a very stern examination, so this is a good way to start the year in the majors.”
Jamie Donaldson (The Ryder Cup star carded a second round 71 and is currently one over)
“I’ve never played with Tiger before so to do that at Augusta was nice. I enjoyed it.
“He’s a great bloke. He’s a down to earth guy and top fella.
“It’s great to play with players who are better than you so you can learn from them and try to add things to your game that they do. His demeanour is unbelievable. He’s so calm – that’s the main thing I learned from him.”
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