Jordan Spieth took hold of the 146th Open Championship on Friday in Round 2, and he did it in the most Jordan Spieth way possible. He also tied a 36-hole Royal Birkdale scoring record in the 10th playing of the Open here. Spieth backed up his 65 in Round 1 with a 69 in Round 2 to tie Craig Stadler's 134 halfway score from the 1983 Open.

It started innocuously enough with a birdie at the first, but then it got crazy. Spieth made two bogeys and six pars on the rest of the front nine for a so-so 35 on the front. Then he chipped in for par at the 10th, followed that with two birdies and necked a 3-wood on the par-5 15th, which led to an eagle.

"Nothing said 4 about (No. 10)," Spieth told Golf Channel's Steve Sands of his par at the 10th. "I feel a little guilty taking 4 on the scorecard here. But boy, pretty fortunate to get that thing to drop."

The eagle on No. 15 was equally fortunate. It put him three clear of the rest of the field. "I mis-hit it, and I was very fortunate to scoot that last bunker," Spieth told Golf Channel. "It was definitely a good break. It wasn't a bad play. We knew we'd stolen one."

But this is what Spieth does. He steals, and he turns the loot into trophies. The No. 1 ball-striker in the world this year doubles as its most elusive out in major championships. That's a hell of a combination when you're playing at Spieth's level.

He again hit just five of 14 fairways off the tee, just like he did in Round 1, but this time he only hit eight of 18 greens in regulation. Spieth scrambled like crazy between bouts of crazy wind and rain in the afternoon at Birkdale.

"There was a couple periods where it was bad as we had last year on Friday, but it was off and on," Spieth told Golf Channel. "When I look back on the entire day, overall it wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be. We got a horn to blow, and we got some favorable conditions for an hour at a time here and there. In those favorable conditions, we were able to capitalize."

He added: "One under was a tremendous score today. I'm very pleased with it. Yesterday, I thought I played better than 5 under. Today, I didn't play as good as that 1 under showed, but chip-ins and fortunate eagles made up for that on the card."

Yes, they did.

And now Spieth turns for home at the halfway point of the 146th Open with only a handful of legitimate chasers. Matt Kuchar is two back. Brooks Koepka and Ian Poulter are three back. Rory McIlroy is five back. And that's about it.

This is where Spieth makes hay, too. He's like Tiger Woods in that manner. He likes to burn courses early and protect them late. That's how he won his first Masters, and it's how he nearly won his second.

This was the plan going in. It is for everyone, of course, but Spieth has the game to make it work. Defeat and then defend. Light it up then make them come for you. McIlroy has the goods to successfully chase, but does anyone else?

Spieth is right where he wants to be after 36 holes. In command and with the field in his palm. He can toy with them over the final 36 and join Jack Nicklaus as the only two golfers to win three legs of the Grand Slam before the age of 24. He could have a shot in August to complete the whole Slam if he takes Birkdale.

But first, he'll have to do at this major what he could not do last year at Augusta National. Was that meltdown a hiccup or a harbinger? We haven't seen Spieth in that position since then at a major championship, but his recent history tells me it was a speed bump en route to an historical career.

We'll know a lot more 36 holes from now, but remember for now that Birkdale almost exclusively crowns all-timers: Tom Watson, Peter Thomson, Arnold Palmer and Johnny Miller. Spieth would fit that group nicely.

History awaits.