AUGUSTA, Ga. — As Jordan Spieth walked off the 18th green here at Augusta National early Friday evening, after a second birdie in four holes that put him very much back in contention at the Masters, the crowd surrounded went into a bit of a tizzy.

“Come on Jordan!”

“You the man!”

“High-five Jordan!”

Spieth had spent most of the day in no-man’s land. He was 3-over par, seven strokes back of the clubhouse lead, and not really a topic of conversation other than, “Where’s Jordan Spieth?”

His name not among those on the hand-operated scoreboards around Augusta National, coupled with a course-wide cell phone ban, left most everyone in the dark.

Rickie Fowler was up there. So was Sergio Garcia, Phil Mickelson and even smooth-swinging Freddie Couples.

But Spieth’s absence created a bit of a void because, well, Jordan Spieth is now the most popular American golfer on tour. That was made abundantly clear on the back nine Friday when he started making a run.

He’d made the turn at 3-over, with no real spark to his game. Then came 13, where he went from a possible penalty for an oscillating ball to a birdie four. He carded another birdie at 16, which induced high-fives all around the picturesque par-3.

At 18, he stuck his approach to just a few feet. The crowd around the green, swollen to near capacity by now, could sense the awakening.

“He birdies and he’s back in it,” a dad said to his son.

Spieth drained the putt, the crowd erupted and he was, indeed, back in it.

When he left the course Thursday night, he was 10 strokes back of the lead, stewing over a poor club choice at 15 that led to a quadruple-bogey 9. Leaving Friday, he was within four.

“We’re in a position now where we, I think, can go out there and win this thing and make a run,” he said. “That right there just gives me chills, because after yesterday I was really disappointed in being 10 shots off the lead.”

With only two majors to his name, Spieth is far from bringing the intimidation factor the man named Woods did. But it’s fair to say those above him on the leaderboard would rather Spieth be 10 back instead of four.

In his only three Masters appearances, he’s finished second, first, second, and he should have won last year. He’s made Augusta his personal playground in short time, the people here are loving it, and Spieth is feeding off it.

“I certainly felt [the crowd] towards the end of the round,” he said. “The crowds are so great and they have been so gracious to me and our history out here and it’s just incredible to play in front of them.”

Now comes Saturday’s Round 3, when Spieth will be paired with Mickelson, a twosome that should consume much of the gallery’s time. Three green jackets vs. one, chasing a foursome atop the leaderboard that doesn’t have a single major victory in the bunch.

The 81st Masters is finally warmed up. Two days left to sort it all out.