Spieth frustrated by putter after 2nd round 73 in Houston Open

Heading into the Shell Houston Open, Jordan Spieth said he was looking for some consistency leading into his first major title defense at the Masters.

Through two rounds at Golf Club of Houston, Spieth hasn’t found it.

After opening with 5-under 67 on Thursday, the 22-year-old Texan struggled with the putter on Friday, leading to a 1-over 73 in difficult conditions. Although inclement weather prevented the finish of Round 2 until Saturday morning, Spieth knows he’ll be no closer to the 36-hole lead than six shots.

“I’ve got to putt better,” Spieth said. “I’m losing a couple strokes back to the field on the putting, and normally we’re gaining strokes. Inside 10 feet, I’ve got to be solid and confident, but I can’t get into a rhythm.”

As he did on Thursday, Spieth missed several mid-range birdie chances that could have given him momentum and kept him under par for the round. Spieth particularly struggled with those putts on the par 5s, which he played in 1 over in the second round. The world No. 2 missed putts of 7, 10 and 15 feet that would have either saved par or led to a birdie on the par 5s.

Comfortably inside the cut line, Spieth has two more rounds to build some confidence with his putter.

“That’s a tough feeling, you know, kind of bleeds into the rest of your game, too, because you feel like you got to be more aggressive,” he said. “So, it really comes down to the putter for me.”

At this point, contending for the title, as he did last year before losing in a playoff to J.B. Holmes, may have become an afterthought.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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