Nichols: Jordan Spieth finishes round two 11 under and feeling like he hasn't played his best golf yet

IRVING -- The AT&T Byron Nelson couldn’t ask for a better setup for the weekend. The two biggest factors affecting attendance -- the weather and Jordan Spieth -- are looking good.

After a rain-delayed first round, skies cleared and Spieth went low again, shooting 5-under 65 at the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas.

Spieth enters the weekend tied for second at 11 under, one stroke behind former Westlake resident Ben Crane.

Sergio Garcia, 2004 Nelson champion, Brooks Koepka and Bud Cauley are also one back.

Although world No. 2 Spieth is playing his sixth Nelson, he finds himself in unchartered territory with his best 36-hole score. And his ‘A’ game has still not arrived.

“Great sign,” said Spieth, who was tied for first when he finished. “I don’t feel like I’m tied for the lead right now, not the feeling I have when I stand over an iron shot. But when I stand over my putter right now it’s back to where we like to have it.”

Coming off his painful Masters finish and his missed cut at last week’s Players Championship, Spieth hoped the Nelson would spark resurgence as he prepares to defend his U.S. Open title.

Click here to view the leaderboard for the AT&T Byron Nelson.

He also is determined to be in contention on Sunday at his hometown event. His best finish was his first, a T16 at age 16.

Spieth still draws positive vibes from the first two Nelsons he played as an amateur with throngs of people lining the first hole. He’s banking on a similar feeling when he gets to No. 1, a dogleg right, on Saturday.

“This weekend will be a lot of fun,” he said. “I always have ... kind of a mental picture of what the sea of people looks like as the hole turns to the right. I’m pretty sure we’re going to see that. It will be a unique feeling and one I hope to feed off of.”

Spieth, who started on No. 10, closed his front nine with three birdies for 31. His only other birdie was on the par-5 No. 7.

He has hit 33 of 36 greens, including all but one (No. 9) on Friday. But, as he pointed out, those are big greens.

His putting has been the focus of his sessions with instructor Cameron McCormick, and putting has been the key to his scoring. He said he still feels somewhat uncomfortable over his iron shots.

"I still got pretty frustrated at times because I would have a really good wedge number ... that should be within 10 feet all day," he said. "With the size of the greens, my misses are still holding the greens. I've had so many 40-footers out here I've managed to get in in two putts."

The last time Crane had led a tournament before this week was his wire-to-wire victory at Memphis two years ago. That’s also the last of his five PGA Tour wins and his last top-10 finish. He has played 48 events since then.

Crane, 40, took the lead with six birdies during an eight-hole stretch. He holed a 70-foot bunker shot on the difficult par-4 No. 3, his 12th of the day. He then took the outright lead with a three-foot birdie on No. 6.

"I've been struggling really for three years now, but intermittent bits of encouragement," said Crane, who currently resides in Nashville. "This has been one of those weeks where I feel like my game is really coming around."

Crane’s only bogey came on the No. 8, but he rebounded with a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 9, his final hole. He matched the best 36-hole score in tournament history.

"A great way to finish and just kind of good continuation of all the good stuff that was happening throughout the day," Crane said.

Twitter: @BillNicholsDMN