2014 Masters leaderboard: Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson tied

The final round of the 2014 Masters is nearly half over, but the opening nine has done little to add clarity to the top of the leaderboard. Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth are in the same position they were when the round started, tied for the Masters lead.

Although they are still tied, it’s been an eventful opening nine for Watson and Spieth. Spieth carded four birdies in his first eight holes and was 8-under at one point, but a pair of bogeys dropped him back into a share of the lead. His shot of the day thus far came at No. 4, where he hit his tee shot into a bunker, but managed to hole out his second shot to make a nearly impossible birdie.

Although Watson dropped a shot early, he rebounded well and notched three birdies in a five-hole stretch. That included a birdie at No. 4 to match Spieth and another at No. 8 to pull even. If the first nine holes are any indication, Spieth and Watson appear set for a back-and-forth battle that will come down to the 18th green.

While Watson and Spieth are off to good starts and sit at 7-under, the other contenders have struggled to keep pace. Matt Kuchar made the turn at 1-over to drop to 3-under. Jonas Blixt is currently alone in third place at 4-under, three strokes off the lead. Rickie Fowler played his front nine even, but bogeyed No. 10 to drop to 2-under.

Here’s a snapshot of the leaderboard. A live leaderboard can be found at Masters.com.