World No. 1 and reigning FedExCup champion Scottie Scheffler signed for a bogey-free 62, equaling the Texas Children’s Houston Open scoring record for the second time (2021/R2, 2025/R2). He leads by one shot at 11-under.
“It felt pretty good. Hit a lot of fairways out there, gave myself a lot of looks. I holed a good amount of putts today, holed a few long ones, which is always nice,” said the American.
Scheffler is bogey-free through 36 holes for the first time since the 2023 American Express.
“It was a lot different than we thought it was going to be. Today looked like, checking the forecast this morning, it was going to be one of those days where we’re going to be playing on and off, looking at a few delays out there, but it was nice to be able to get the round in and hopefully it stays clear for the boys in the afternoon as well,” added Scheffler.
Canada’s Taylor Pendrith started the day with a share of the lead and closed with a 65 to move down into a share of second place at 10-under.
Pendrith has recorded two top-10 finishes in eight starts this season on the PGA Tour (T7/Farmers Insurance Open, T9/AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am).
Colombia’s Nico Echavarria is currently tied in second place. He is 9-under on his round through 16 holes and facing a 44’11” par putt on No. 17.
Australia’s Min Woo Lee is 5-under through 16 holes and holds a share of fourth place at 9-under alongside American Ryan Gerard who held a share of the overnight lead and is currently 4-under trough eleven holes.
Making first start at the event since 2014 and his debut at Memorial Park Golf Course, FedExCup leader Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland birdied three of his final four holes for a 4-under 66 and lies in T30 at 4-under.
Play was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at 3:01 p.m. and resumed at 5:09 p.m. Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:37 p.m. with 52 players yet to complete the round. The second round will resume Saturday at 7:30 a.m. The third round will feature threesomes off split tees from approximately 10 a.m. – Noon.
