World number one Jordan Spieth crashed out of the Northern Trust Open on Friday with fellow American Jason Kokrak leading by a single shot and Rory McIlroy firmly in the mix after the second round.
Reigning US Open and Masters champion Spieth bounced back from the worst opening round of his career with a three-under par 68—11 shots better than Thursday—but still missed the cut.
Spieth said that sloppy iron play and not enough practice time on the driving range was his downfall but he vowed not to brood over his disappointment at the Riviera Country Club.
“I will be ready to go in the next tournament. I am not going to let this one get to me very much,” said Spieth. “We rebounded in perfect form last year on just about every missed cut. We’ll be fine.”
It was just the third missed cut in the 22-year-old Texan’s past 20 worldwide starts and the first time he has missed one since last year’s Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston.
Long-hitting Kokrak surged up the leaderboard with a seven-under 64 to finish at 10-under 132 after 36 holes in the $6.8 million US PGA Tour event. Chez Reavie fired a 67 and is alone in second at nine-under 133.
American Dustin Johnson, who finished second to Bubba Watson at Riviera in 2014 and lost a sudden-death playoff to James Hahn last year, shot a 66 and was tied for third with Watson (68) and Troy Merritt (66) in the event, which concludes the tour’s west coast swing.
World number three McIlroy had another solid round with a two-under 69, leaving him tied for seventh at six-under 136, four adrift of Kokrak.
Spieth was hoping to use the event as a stepping stone ahead of defending the Masters title at Augusta National. But a disappointing eight-over 79 in the first round put him 12 shots back of McIlroy.
“I guess Rory is considering this as the start to his run at the Masters,” Spieth said of the first major of the season that begins April 7. “This was not my start to the run at the Masters. Mine will start the next time.”
McIlroy would complete a career Grand Slam with a victory at the Masters, where he had a four-shot lead heading into the final round in 2011 before a spectacular collapse.
Spieth plans to take next week off and then compete at the World Golf Championships Cadillac Championship at Donald Trump’s Doral course in Florida.
McIlroy started quickly with birdies on two of his first three holes on what is considered a shot-makers course.  
And McIlroy certainly had that part of his game on display Friday, especially on the par-five 17 where his aggressive approach saw him reach the green in just two while his playing partners Hideki Matsuyama and Matt Kucher both laid up. His eagle putt stopped two feet short for an easy birdie.
“I just need to get off to a fast start tomorrow, get myself close to the leaders and play a good, solid round and see where that puts me going into Sunday,” McIlroy said.
Kokrak, ranked ninth on the tour in driving distance, is seeking his first win on the PGA Tour. His best finish was a second at the Frys.com Open four years ago.
“This is one of the best fields on the Tour,” said Kokrak. “So there are plenty of guys out there. I just have to stick to my game plan and try to hit good shots.”

Riviera fan Johnson back in title contention
A year after losing a playoff for the Northern Trust Open, American Dustin Johnson was back in contention for the title as he ended the second round just two strokes off the lead. Johnson, a nine-time winner on the PGA Tour, took advantage of good scoring conditions, firing 66 for an eight-under total of 134, two strokes behind leader Jason Kokrak.
“I like where I’m at,” Johnson, 31, told reporters after mixing six birdies with a lone bogey on the heavily tree-lined layout. “Definitely happy with the way I played the last two days.
“Yesterday I felt like I hit it really well, just didn’t hole any putts. Today the same. I hit it really well, had a lot of good looks at birdie and just holed a couple more putts.”
Johnson lost out in a three-way playoff for last year’s Northern Trust Open, won by American James Hahn, but said he has no bitter memories from that experience.
“Definitely positive (memories) for sure. I feel like I play well here a lot. I really like this golf course. It sets up very good to me. It’s fun to play,” said Johnson, who also finished second here in 2014.
“You’ve got to hit a lot of different shots, and it never plays easy. This is about as easy as it can play right now, good weather and the greens are really soft.”
Twelve months ago, Johnson was edged out for the title on the third extra hole at Riviera, the par-three 14th. Hahn struck his tee shot to 24 feet and coolly sank the birdie putt before Johnson missed his attempt from 12 feet.
England’s Paul Casey had been eliminated from the playoff on the previous hole. “In the playoff, I hit good shots,” said Johnson. “He just holed a long putt there on 14. So you know, hats off to him. It wasn’t like I did anything wrong. I have no bad vibes or anything here. I love coming back here.”