AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil’s Army had pretty much surrendered by the turn Friday, even as their leader fought on.

There were six of them in matching gray T-shirts following Phil Mickelson the day before, but now only three remained. Hard to blame them because even though their favorite was playing decently, he was 12 shots behind runaway leader Jordan Spieth.

Playing partner Rory McIlroy wasn’t faring any better. Winner of the last two major championships, he was 13 back and still had nine holes of the second round to play.

It was that kind of a day at Augusta National. A Masters that barely seemed under way already seemed out of reach for many in the field.

They were, for the most part, still hopeful. This is golf, after all, when even Tiger Woods can implode seemingly out of nowhere.

Realistically, though, Spieth will have to start making some bogeys – and a bunch of them – for anyone to have a chance. He will have to come back to the field almost as quickly as he left it behind.

Spieth, after a record-setting first two rounds, was five shots up on Charley Hoffman and seven ahead of the next nearest challengers. That’s a lot of strokes, even if there are still 36 holes to go.

“It’s a long, long way from being finished,” said Ernie Els, nine shots back in a tie for seventh place. “A lot of work to be done still, so we’ll see.

Take away Hoffman – a journeyman in only his second Masters – and the leaderboard does boast an impressive list of names. Any of them are capable of putting up low numbers, especially on a course playing soft.

Dustin Johnson showed that by setting a Masters record with three eagles, the last a tap-in on No. 15, on his way to a 67 that left him seven back.

“We still (have) 36 holes left, so that’s a lot of golf,” Johnson said. “Anything can happen around here. It’s a fun golf course, it yields a lot of birdies or eagles, but you can make big numbers, too. So you just never know.”

McIlroy made a late move of his own, shooting a 31 on the back to go from being in danger of missing the cut to finally getting under par. Like so many, he’s a ton of shots back – an even dozen – but still harbors some hope.

Just not much.

“I would need to shoot a 14-under-par weekend and Jordan would have to play a couple average rounds, and neither of those two things look like they’re going to happen,” he said. “So it’s going to be tough.”

The men in the Phil’s Army shirts, meanwhile, might rethink their plans for the weekend. Seemingly going nowhere, Mickelson birdied four holes on the back nine to at least get his competitive juices flowing.

Mickelson finished with a 68 to get to within eight shots of the lead in a tournament he has shown he knows how to win.

“A lot can happen on this golf course, and he was playing some of the best golf coming into this tournament, he’s playing the best golf in the tournament,” Mickelson said of Spieth. “And I expect him to continue that. But you never know what’s going to happen in this golf tournament, and if something were to happen I want to be there, be there to take over.”

ERNIE ELS has played Augusta National enough to know the halfway point is far too early to think this Masters is over.

Now if only he can get a little help from Spieth.

“I don’t want to wish anything bad, but if he takes his foot off the gas and gives you a bit (of) hope to catching him,” Els said.

The South African started Friday in good position at 5 under, only three strokes behind Spieth’s lead. He stayed three strokes back after four holes with an early birdie before four bogeys moved him down the leaderboard. Els finished exactly where he started at 5 under with an even par 72, putting him nine strokes behind Spieth.

That’s not what Els wanted playing in his 21st Masters and still looking for his first green jacket at age 45.

Els, a two-time champion at both the British Open and U.S. Open, said four mistakes really cost him Friday.

He picked the wrong club on the par-4 5th and hit over the green, forcing him to get up and down for bogey. He was short again on No. 7, three-putted on No. 10, and missed a short putt on 11.

A windy day certainly didn’t help him picking the right clubs. Els bounced back with two birdies in a three-hole stretch starting at No. 13, getting him back to 5 under. Now he says the key will be hitting irons closer to the pin, giving himself more scoring chances.

“I didn’t get it up and down when I needed to, but I felt in control, patient,” Els said. “And I feel I’ve got a couple rounds in me when I get it altogether.”

MARK O’MEARA, the 1998 Masters champion, made the cut at Augusta for the first time in 10 years.

O’Meara, 58, followed his opening 73 with a 4-under 68. He shot his first round under 70 since the final day in 2001, when he tied for 20th.

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