Jordan Spieth made Masters history by posting the lowest ever 36-hole total as he continued to set a blistering pace in pursuit of a first major title on the second day of the 79th Masters.
Spieth held a three-shot lead overnight after carding a superb opening 64 which was just one shot outside both the course record and the lowest score recorded in men's major championship history.
The last player to hold the outright lead after the first round and go on to win was Ben Crenshaw in 1984, although Trevor Immelman was joint leader on his way to the green jacket in 2008.
But Spieth showed no signs of faltering as he picked up four birdies in his first 10 holes to move to 12 under par, five shots clear of nearest challenger Charley Hoffman.
Spieth, who led by two shots after seven holes of the final round last year before finishing runner-up to Bubba Watson, pitched to two feet for a birdie on the second, holed from 15 feet on the fifth and then fired his approach from 230 yards to three feet on the eighth after pitching out of a fairway bunker.
It came as a major surprise when another birdie attempt from four feet on the ninth did not even touch the hole, but the 21-year-old made amends by holing from four times the distance on the 10th.
Spieth pushed his drive on the 13th into the trees but, after laying up short of Rae's Creek, pitched to eight feet and holed for yet another birdie to reach 13 under.
He then played the last five holes in one under to card a total of 130 and equal the lowest halfway score in major history, joining Nick Faldo, Brandt Snedeker and Martin Kaymer in the record books.
Faldo was 12 under for the first 36 holes on his way to winning the 1992 Open at Muirfield, with Snedeker and Kaymer 10 under in the 2012 Open and 2014 US Open respectively.
Charley Hoffman lies in second place after carding a 68 to move to nine under for the tournament.
Rory McIlroy is best of the Irish after posting two under par, following a one-under-par 71. But it was far from straightforward for the world number one as his round included four bogeys, a double bogey, an eagle and five birdies.
Sitting outside the cut mark on three over following a double bogey on the ninth hole, McIlroy kicked into top gear and played the back nine in five under, finishing with two excellent birdies on the final two holes.
Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke also made the weekend cut as both players sit on one over par. McDowell added a round of 74 to his initial 71, while Clarke shot the opposite by posting a 71 following yesterday's 74.
Shane Lowry just missed out on the weekend action on his maiden Masters after posting three over, one outside the cut, while Padraig Harrington had a round to forget as he posted a disappointing five-over 77 to miss the cut by three.
