With two rounds in the books at The Barclays, Bubba Watson has positioned himself as the man to beat after shooting a two-under 68 on Friday.At seven under for the tournament, Watson holds a one-shot lead over Henrik Stenson, Tony Finau, Zach Johnson and Jason Dufner. Jason Day, Camilo Villegas and Robert Streb are among those golferswho also have a fighting chance at overtaking Watson:Watson wasn't exactly great off the tee Friday, reaching only four of 14 fairways throughout the round. But that didn't necessarily matter when the 36-year-old was hitting approaches like this beauty on No. 7, courtesy of the PGA Tour:When you picture a ball bouncing/rolling just right for a golfer, a shot like that comes to mind.It also helps when you can smash the ball farther than just about anybody else. PGA Tour veteran Kevin Kisner believes Watson's style is emblematic of the shifting paradigm in golf:Fortune might have favored Watson Friday, but he might have to improve a bit with regard to his driving over the next two days. The tiniest slip could open the door for any of the four golfers in second place to take a share of the lead.Johnson was among Round 2's biggest movers, as he climbed 30 spots. His five-under 65 was tied for the second-lowest score of the day.Unlike Watson, Johnson excelled off the tee, hitting 11 fairways. Technically, this opening shot on No. 14 didn't count toward that total, but it demonstrated how well the 39-year-old was striking the ball:When Johnson entered the clubhouse, he was in a three-way tie with Stenson and Finau for the lead.For a stretch in the second round, Finau was all alone in first place. A birdie on No. 12 moved him to three under for the round and eight under for the tournament. Bogeys on 14 and 16 knocked him back a bit, but he remains in a great position to challenge for the title.Winning The Barclays would certainly represent a massive achievement for the 25-year-old given his rather humble origins in the sport, per PGATour.com's Sean Martin:ESPN.com's Jason Sobel added that The Barclays isn't the only competition Finau is looking to win over the coming days:At least Finau and those at or near the top of the leaderboard won't have to worry about a push from the world's best golfer. Jordan Spieth failed to make the cut altogether.The 22-year-old struggled in the first round, with a four-over 74. Despite that, many will have expected him to turn things around on Day 2. Instead, he bogeyed four holes during a five-hole stretch on the front nine Friday, following up with bogeys on 12 and 18. At six under for the tournament, Spieth missed the cut by four strokes.It's the first time Spieth has missed a cut since The Players Championship back in May. As PGATour.com's Brian Wacker noted, Spieth will fall to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking as a result. According to Golf Channel researcher Justin Ray, it's the first time a golfer has lost the top spot in his first tournament as world No. 1.Ray did, however, put everything into perspective:For now, Spieth isn't sweating the OWGR."I've reached that peak already, and I know it's going to be close enough to where if I just get the job done next week, I'll be back in that ranking," he said Friday, per Sobel. "That ranking, it's great once you reach it, but it's not something that I'm going to live or die on each week."When you already have a Masters and U.S. Open title to your name, you can afford to be a little blithe about losing the No. 1 ranking.Although Spieth's absence does make The Barclays a little less interesting, plenty of stars remain right in the thick of things with half of the event completed. Twenty-two golfers are all within four shots or fewer of Watson, so there's a good chance ownership of the lead will change hands quite often between now and Sunday.Note: Stats are courtesy of PGATour.com.
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