Keith Mitchell Fires 65 to Join Jacob Bridgeman Atop Leaderboard

• Keith Mitchell shot a 65 on Friday to share the Baycurrent Classic lead at 11-under with Jacob Bridgeman.
• First-round leader Bridgeman added a 68 to his opening 63 at Yokohama Country Club.
• Ben Kohles, Mac Meissner, Max Homa and Zach Bauchou share third place, two shots off the lead.

Keith Mitchell likes Japan, and Japan seems to like him back. The American fired a 6-under 65 at Yokohama Country Club on Friday to draw level with Jacob Bridgeman at 11-under at the halfway stage of the Baycurrent Classic.

Bridgeman, who led by one after a bogey-free 63 on Thursday, added a 68 on a sunny second day. The pair are two shots clear of a group of four, in a field that is the strongest of the FedExCup Fall. The PGA Tour’s lone stop in Asia features 13 of the 24 players who contested the Presidents Cup at Medinah two weeks ago.

Mitchell feeds off the crowd

Mitchell made 15 birdies through 36 holes, the most of anyone in the field and credited the enthusiastic galleries for some of that.

“I love it over here. It’s always on my schedule,” he said. “I love Japan. I think just the energy here just helps me play a little bit better for some reason.”

His record backs that up. He has improved his finishing position at this event on each visit, from tied 27th in 2019 to tied 21st in 2023 and tied 10th last year.

This is his first start since the FedEx St. Jude Championshipon August 16. It is also only the fourth time he has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead on Tour. He converted one of the previous three, at the 2019 Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches. That remains his only PGA Tour title.

A win on Sunday would end a drought of seven years, seven months and eight days, or 2,779 days. His best result in 23 starts this season was a tie for fourth at the US Open, one of three top-10 finishes.

Mitchell entered the week at No. 53 in the FedExCup Fall standings and is projected to move up to No. 51. Players finishing Nos. 51 to 60 in the final standings earn spots in the 2027 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the 2027 Genesis Invitational.

Bridgeman grinds it out

Bridgeman’s second round was more graft than glamour, but he kept himself at the top.

“I didn’t quite have the same game I had yesterday today so it was a little bit more difficult to make as many birdies, but I think I kind of realized that early and was able to play kind of conservative and plot my way around the course,” he said. “Navigated it pretty good, was able to post a good number.”

He claimed his first Tour title at theGenesis Invitational in February, leading or co-leading after all four rounds. He then won the Biltmore Championship Asheville in his 85th career start, which was also his most recent Tour appearance.

In between, he finished fourth in the FedExCup standings and made 24 starts with only one missed cut, at the PGA Championship. Those starts brought seven top-10s.

At Medinah he secured the winning point for the United States. That made him only the second Presidents Cup rookie to clinch the cup, after Daniel Berger in 2017.

This is his third 36-hole lead or co-lead on Tour, and he converted one of the previous two. A win in Yokohama would make him the fifth three-time winner of the season, joining Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Scottie Scheffler and Chris Gotterup. The last season with five or more three-time winners was 2022.

He would also become the first player since Fitzpatrick to win in back-to-back starts. Fitzpatrick did it at the RBC Heritage and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Kohles leads the chasers

Ben Kohles posted the round of the day, a 9-under 62. It matches his career-low on Tour, set in the first round of this year’s 3M Open. Kohles is chasing a first title in his 127th start and has two top-three finishes: runner-up at the 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson and tied third at this year’s John Deere Classic.

Alongside him at 9-under is Zach Bauchou, whose 64 extended his run of par-or-better rounds to 24. That is the best current streak on Tour. The rookie’s best finish in 30 starts is a tie for sixth at this year’s CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

Max Homa followed his opening 65 with a 68. It is the first time he has opened with consecutive rounds in the 60s in four appearances at this event.

Mac Meissner also shot 68 to reach 9-under. He finished tied 27th on both previous visits and is seeking a first Tour title in his 80th start. His two top-three finishes came as runner-up at last year’s Wyndham Championship and tied third at this year’s Charles Schwab Challenge.

Matsuyama and Schauffele adrift

Hideki Matsuyama, the Ehime native and 2021 winner, slipped to a 1-over 72 after his opening 67. He sits eight shots back at 3-under. That still extends his run of consecutive cuts made to 35, the best active streak on Tour, ten clear of Cameron Young.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele carded a 69 and is also eight back. It was his 25th round of par-or-better at the Baycurrent Classic, the most by any player in tournament history, from 30 rounds in total.

With no 36-hole cut in the 72-man field, all of them will be back out on Saturday.

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