Tournament of Champions: On the second day of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Collin Morikawa pulled ahead of JJ Spaun and Scottie Scheffler to take the lead.
The American recorded a seven-under 66 to finish the day with a score of 16-under 130.
He now has a two-shot advantage over 86th-ranked Spaun and Masters champion Scheffler.
Similar to Morikawa, Tom Kim of South Korea is in fifth place at 12 under after shooting a 69 in the second round. Jordan Spieth is in fourth place at 13 under.
Jon Rahm slipped to a tie for sixth place on 11 under with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
The first of 17 PGA Tour events with designated higher purses this year is the Tournament of Champions, which features 39 participants. The 2023 field was increased to include athletes who did not place first in 2022 but did make it to the Tour Championship. Previously, this competition was only open to competitors who had won a tournament the previous year.
Morikawa, who finished the previous season without a victory, got out to a hot start on Friday by birdying four of the opening five holes. On the back nine, he made three more birdies before finishing with three consecutive pars.
With birdies on each of the next four holes and putts of less than eight feet, Scheffler placed himself in contention. He had two bogeys and nine birdies in his round.
Just like yesterday, solid, made a few good putts, said Morikawa. “Obviously, with the wind and how quickly the fairways were rolling, it played much harder.”
“You simply need to play your shots and hit them in the right places. Thankfully, we were able to take advantage of enough holes today to continue making birdies.”
Spaun bogeyed the fourth hole, a par 4, but he didn’t take another. Six birdies were his final total.
Spaun claimed, “I drove it well again. “I don’t believe my tee shot was particularly poor. The only real way to miss fairways out here is to whack the ball too far. However, I did make an effort to avoid making any mistakes. I made one three-putt, but that was pretty much the only error I made all day.”
Eagles on the fifth and fifteenth, both par-five holes, were the highlight of Spieth’s round. In addition, he made a bogey and four birdies. Due to a persistent back problem, Xander Schauffele withdrew in the middle of the second round.
He declared, “This is not getting any better.” The sensation is actually worse when I swing.”
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