Overnight leader Lee Hodges followed up his opening 63 with another bogey-free round of 64 to take a four-shot lead at 15-under in the 3M Open. His first 36-hole lead/co-lead on Tour.
His 127 total marks his low 36-hole total on Tour and sets the tournament 36-hole scoring record, bettering Bryson DeChambeau’s 128 in 2019.
“Same thing as yesterday. I’ve got a great attitude out there. Me and my caddie, we’re 70-something on the [FedEx Cup] points list, like what do we have to lose, you know? We’ve committed to every shot we’ve hit so far, which has been great. We’ll continue to do it, because what do we have to lose.
“I’ve got great speed out there. Me and my coach, Marcus Potter, have been putting a lot of work in. We got this new green reading system that we’ve been using and it’s been great on greens like this where there’s a little bit of slope around the cups and you’ve got to kind of see it in there. It’s been working really great for us.
“It’s Ralph Bauer’s system. You just kind of feel the slope in your feet and it’s kind of like almost a little bit of math involved, but it’s super simple. I have a hard time doing this with the AimPoint because I feel like I’d be off. Just being able to get a quick number like that has been really good. And I’ve trusted it. I’ve learned that my feet are pretty good like even since we started, but I’ve really been trusting it and it’s been paying off.”
Hodges is one of two bogey-free players through 36 holes, along with Tyler Duncan who shot a 67 to retain solo second place at 11-under.
Kevin Streelman posted a bogey-free 68 for a share of third place at 10-under alongside J.T. Poston (66), Tony Finau (66) and Brandt Snedeker (68) completing the all-American Top-5.
The projected 36-hole cut of 4-under 138 would represent the lowest cut in tournament history.
The first round, suspended for the day Thursday at 6:59 p.m. CT with 21 players remaining, resumed Friday at 7:56 a.m. and concluded at 8:43 a.m.
The second round began as scheduled at 6:45 a.m. and was suspended at 4:23 p.m. due to dangerous weather. The second round resumed at 6:20 p.m., a delay of 1 hour, 57 minutes, and was suspended for the day at 8:53 p.m. due to darkness with six players to complete their round.
Play is scheduled to resume at 8:15 a.m. Saturday. Estimated tee times for round three are 9:25-11:35 a.m. off two tees in groups of three.
