Comebacks play well across the swells of sports fandom. Give me a story on someone who battled through adversity, and I’ll eat it up. Comebacks offer hope at the same time they convince us that the immortals are momentarily, if unsustainably, mortal. Suspicion is that Thursday would be characterized by adrenaline rushes, at the thought of finally being back on the fairway. This worked well for some, not so well for others. Friday’s reaction to the rush was the crash. Rory McIlroy went 7 deep for 63, as two golfers did on Thursday.

5. Comeback 1: Harold Varner III

Harold Varner III made triple bogey at the 10th and bogey at the 18th. Fortunately for him, he started on inward half, so the entire front side offered a chance at redemption. Varner began his day with a tee shot to a bridge at the 10th. After a penalty drop and a succession of unfortunate slashes, he tapped in for a triple bogey and handed 3 shots back to Old Man Par. His calm was evident, as he notched birdies at 12, 13 and 16, to return to level for the day. The aforementioned bogey at the last (his 9th) offered two paths, and Varner found the proper one. He played the second nine in 5-under 30, thanks to 4 consecutive birdies from 4-7, and a 5th at the 9th. Varner missed makeable birdie putts (1o’ and 22′) at the 1st and 2nd, then made a mighty par save at the third. Buoyed by the effort, he reeled off birdie rolls of 31′, 3′, 3′ again, and 20′. He capped the day by knocking in a 10-foot putt for 3 at the 9th. Only a missed 30-foot putt at the 8th kept him from a six-birdie streak.

4. Comeback 2: Jordan Spieth

Forget macro-comebacks. Let’s focus on Jordan Spieth’s 2nd-round, micro-comeback for this moment. Like Varner III, Spieth started on the inward half. Unlike Varner, Spieth played it in 4 strokes below par. Birdies at 1 and 2 brought the 3-time major champion to 6 deep on the day, and 11-under for the week. His putter was on fire … until it wasn’t. Spieth 1-putted 2-jacked 3-jabbed 4-whacked the par four 3rd hole from 33 feet. 3 of those came from inside 3 feet. He then missed a 10-foot putt for par at the next, and was back to 8-under. His comeback was immediate. Spieth birdied 5 and 6 and finished the day on -5, and -10 overall. He’ll be paired with Varner III in Saturday’s final grouping.

3. How did Bryson get jacked?

This writer doesn’t know and doesn’t currently care. Why not? It would be the greatest ego move to get strong by abusing disallowed methods. It would be career damaging and reputation slaughtering. DeChambeau is most intelligent and quite upstanding. We’ll leave it at that. On Friday, The Big Bang Theory (yup, you may use it) went low with no damage. He scratched 5 birdies into the scorecard, and joined Spieth at -10, one behind Varner III. If you had promised us this trio at the top, heading into round three, we’d have asked for seconds.

2. Rory roaries

There was something special on that 10th tee this morning. Rory, like Jordan and HV3, teed off at numero diez and played a 7-under round, to work his way to -8. If it weren’t for the final hole of the day (#9), McIlroy would have reached 8-under 62 and, well, that’s it. The North Ulsterman posted three birdies heading out, then eagled the first and birdied the 2nd to reach -6 on the day. 2 more birdies, at 6 and 7, had him smiling from ear to ear. Alas, a wretched lie in the right-side rough on number nine compelled him to pitch out, shy of the water, and take his chances with his wedge. His pitch was nearly as wretched, leaving him nearly 50 feet from the hole. Like a boss, he calmly two-putted for bogey, and escaped major collateral damage.

1. More Predictions

Most likely to rip his pants on live television: DeChambeau. Let’s be honest, how do you size clothing to those muscles?

Most likely to do self-commentary: Justin Thomas. He’s two back and handles the mic pretty well.

Most likely to fade away: HV3. Sorry, Harold. Use it as motivation.

Most likely to rise on Saturday: Xander Schauffele. This guy smells blood like sharks smell blood, if sharks indeed smell.

Most likely to bounce back on Saturday: Justin Rose. Blah Friday of -1, so he needs a bounce-back on Saturday, or he might switch clubs again.

Most likely to wave the Maple Leaf: Corey Conners. This Canadian can play, and will be the next northern heartbreaker for our neighbors across the line.

Most likely to elicit “oh yeah, I remember him”: Peter Uihlein. Also, most likely to play Titleist.