Golf-Veterans Els and O'Meara have solid days during Spieth show

By Mark Lamport-Stokes AUGUSTA, Georgia, April 10 (Reuters) - While American young gun Jordan Spieth turned the 79th Masters into a one-man show with a record-breaking display on Friday, some of golf's senior citizens proved that they can still flourish in the majors. American veteran Mark O'Meara vaulted up the leaderboard with a four-under-par 68 in the second round at Augusta National and 45-year-old Ernie Els of South Africa remained in the title hunt after following his opening 67 with a 72. "I've been hitting the ball pretty well almost all year," said O'Meara, 58, who won the 1998 Masters but has missed the cut in his last eight starts. "I played the practice rounds Monday and Tuesday with Tiger (Woods). Even he commented, 'Wow, you're like driving it, man, you're a better driver of the ball than I've ever seen.' "Fortunately I had hit the ball well the first two days. Today I felt the pins were a little bit tougher, but I did drive it good again today and I hit a lot of quality iron shots." O'Meara posted a three-under total of 141 after 36 holes in the year's opening major to climb into the top 10. Four-times major winner Els was two strokes better, despite offsetting four birdies with four bogeys during his round. "I basically made just four mistakes but I paid for it," said the big South African. "But I felt in control, I felt patient. I feel I've got a couple of low ones (rounds) in me." Els was mightily impressed by the brilliant form shown by the 21-year-old Spieth, who fired a six-under 66 to finish at 14-under 130, a record low at Augusta National after 36 holes. "He's on," said the former world number one, who has recorded six top-10s in 20 Masters appearances, including runner-up spots in 2000 and 2004. "And the greens are holding. When you are on and your game is on, you can shoot these numbers at Augusta. It's a long, long way from being finished ... but he's very, very impressive. "The leaders here have historically done well and gone on to win, and there have also been some real good comebacks. It's not over. Big weekend ahead, a lot of golf to be played." (Editing by Gene Cherry)