American Sahith Theegala shot a second round 64 for a share of the lead alongside South Korea’s S.H. Kim at 12-under in the Fortinet Championship.
Theegala’s round was highlighted by a holed bunker shot from 43’7” for eagle-3 at the 5th and he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (3.369).
“It was a really solid round,” said Theegala. “Still not used to the new routing of the course, so I just — the back nine now’s definitely the very scorable nine. So starting on the back today, I think it’s kind of nice, you kind of ease into the round versus starting on 1, a couple hard holes right out the gate.
“So I was able to get off to a good start, birdied all the par 5s and just kept it rolling from there. I made a couple of momentum putts on early, on 3 was probably the biggest one. Yeah, it was a great round. It was one of those rounds where I just felt like I needed to give myself chances and if I did, I had a good chance of making it.”
Kim holds the lead/co-lead for the first time after any round on the PGA Tour. He leads the field in Scrambling (10 of 11).
“I started off with a birdie today and overall I’m happy with my round. There was a couple of obstacles at the end, but I’m glad I saved some pars to keep the momentum going,” said Kim.
“For the weekend, I just want to show some consistency in my game like I did the first two rounds and look forward to the weekend.”
South Korean Sangmoon Bae, who won the event in 2014, lies one shot back after a second round 66 followed by Americans Eric Cole in fourth place at 10-under and Kelly Kraft in fifth place at 9-under.
Justin Thomas found some much-needed form ahead of the Ryder Cup as he shot a second round 67.
The American, winless on the PGA Tour this season and reliant on a wildcard pick from Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson, lies in a tie for sixth at 8-under.
Having hit just three fairways in an opening 69, Thomas switched to a longer driver he has been experimenting with in recent weeks.
“I could tell in one video I was getting stuck underneath it,” said the double Major winner, who hit eight fairways in the second round. “If I drive it like I did today, I’ll use it for the rest of my career.
“I had a good thought from just a little 10-minute range session that I felt like could get me through today and it worked pretty well.
“That’s a part of what I think has made me as successful as I’ve been in my career, I’ve been very good at adjusting on the fly.”
Thomas’ fellow Ryder Cup player Max Homa was among those tied with him on eight-under.
US Ryder Cup captain Johnson was among those to miss the cut.
