PGA Tour rookie Pierceson Coody started the day at 11-under after carding a 61 in the opening round and fired six birdies and a bogey for a 67 to reach 16-under and take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the ISCO Championship.

The American holds the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time, his best finish in 26 starts on Tour so far was T5 at the 2024 Charles Schwab Challenge.

“It wasn’t quite 61, but 67’s still a really nice score. I definitely could have made a couple more six- to eight-foot putts, left a couple out there, but bounced back in a lot of really good ways and kept my round going and happy to put up a 67.”

“It’s probably one of the more demanding tee shots on the golf course,” he said of the par-4 18th where he made his single bogey, “kind of you come through a chute off the tee so you’ve got to put a ball up in the air knowing the wind’s off to your left and a firm bounce, your ball goes in water to the right.

“There’s a lot going on on that tee shot. I let one get a little left, I pulled it to much, didn’t cut back. Unfortunately couldn’t find it, but hit a really nice provisional there to put a wedge in to about five or six feet and make the bogey, which is a really nice save.

“It’s huge knowing that the scores are low, knowing that I needed to go get three, four, five birdies on the back nine to kind of get myself in the position I want to be out in front in the golf tournament. To make bogey the way I did, it almost was a good positive to execute the next drive, hit a perfect wedge and remind myself that I’m playing good golf and to keep that going through the back nine.”

Coody leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting (5.508) and Strokes Gained: Around the Green (3.028).

Germany’s Matthis Besard has opened 67-63 in his debut appearance on the Tour and lies in a share of second place at 14-under. His single top-10 in 17 DP World Tour starts came in his most recent start at the 2024 BMW International Open (T6).

American Chez Reavie, bogey-free through 36 holes, is also tied in second place after carding a 62 featuring an eagle at the par-5 8th.

Rico Hoey of the Philippines is also bogey-free through 36 holes and shot a 66 to hold on to a share of the second place.

With rounds of 64-67 this week, American Hayden Springer, who shot 59 in the opening round of last week’s John Deere Classic, is now 48-under in his last 10 rounds and lies in T5 at 13-under.

66 professionals and one amateur made the cut at 8-under 136 from a field of 155 professionals and one amateur. It marks the low 36-hole cut relative to par in an individual stroke-play event on the PGA Tour on record (1970-present); the previous record was 7-under at the 2020 Shriners Children’s Open.

Related: Rory McIlroy experiences deja vu as putter misfires in Scottish Open

Defending champion McIlroy added a 66 to his opening 65 at the Renaissance Club.

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