Trace Crowe Leads by One as Darkness Suspends Play Again

• Trace Crowe leads the Austin Championship by one shot with two holes of his second round to play.
• Kevin Yu is alone in second place after a second-round 66.
• Darkness suspended play at 5:37 p.m. local time with 16 players still on the course.

Trace Crowe will start Saturday’s play at the Austin Championship presented by Compliance Solutions on the 17th green, more than 55 feet from the hole. Darkness halted play for the second day running. Crowe was 13-under through 16 holes on the Fazio Canyons Course at Omni Barton Creek Resort & Spa, a shot ahead of Kevin Yu.

The first-round leader after a course-record 62 went 32 holes without a bogey. That run ended at the 15th, where he went from the rough to well over the green and missed his par putt from outside 20 feet. The par-5 18th is the only hole left after the 17th. If Crowe holds on, it will be his first 36-hole lead or co-lead on Tour.

Crowe arrived at No. 117 in the FedExCup Fall standings. His best Tour finish is a share of third at the Bank of Utah Championship in October, and this is his 50th start as he looks for a first win. The season ends next week on the Georgia coast. The top 100 secure full status for 2027, the year before the Tour moves to its new competitive model.

Yu stays calm on the bubble

Yu at least finished his round. He holed two good par putts at the end of a second straight 6-under 66 to reach 12-under 132. He started the week at No. 99 in the standings, and he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting.

“If you think about it, it’s definitely a lot of pressure,” Yu said. “But on the golf course pressure’s not going to do anything good to you. I’m trying to just be myself on the course, try to hit good golf shots. If I just keep hitting good golf shots, the good golf is going to take care of itself.”

The 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship winner made 10 birdies in his opening round and has 17 birdies and eagles this week, more than anyone else in the field.

Brian Harman bogeyed his first and last holes but still shot 66. He is at 11-under 133 with Kristoffer Ventura, who shot 67. Both already have their status for next year. Harman’s 2023 Open title came with a five-year exemption. Neal Shipley was 10-under through 16 holes.

Teenagers in the mix

Blades Brown, who won the World Wide Technology Championship last week, drove into the trees at the 10th and made double bogey, then dropped another shot at the next. The 19-year-old birdied three of his last five holes for a 70 and sits at 9-under 135.

Miles Russell, a high school senior from Florida and the only amateur in the field, made five straight birdies. He was 4-under for his round and 9-under for the tournament with three holes to play. Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is also on 9-under after a 66 that included his first PGA Tour hole-in-one, an 8-iron at the 159-yard third.

Cut line

The cut is projected to fall at 4-under 140. Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Davis Thompson, both on the bubble coming into the week, are in danger of missing it. Chris Kirk started at No. 102 and posted two 73s, so he will miss the cut. Jackson Koivun, the 3M Open winner, is at level par and will miss his second cut as a professional.

Karl Vilips withdrew with a neck injury before the second round, and C.T. Pan withdrew during it with a rib injury. The Tour expects to finish Saturday’s play on time with the smaller field after the cut.

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A birdie at the last rescued McIlroy's 70 after three back-nine bogeys.

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