Defending champion Scottie Scheffler closed with a bogey-free 64 to take a two-shot lead at 10-under in the WM Phoenix Open before play was suspended once again.
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“I think around this place when you’re hitting fairways and you’re hitting it well the golf course can kind of open up for you,” said the American. “But the opposite can happen in a hurry because there’s trouble lurking on basically every hole. With there being desert close by. There’s a lot of holes with water as well. When you’re hitting it well you have to take advantage of it like I did today. Hopefully I’ll keep putting the ball in position as the week goes on.
“It was definitely a bit calmer this morning than I thought it was going to be. We definitely had some weird gusts and stuff. It was kind of bouncing around a lot. I don’t know if y’all noticed that. But the wind was really moving around. So it could be difficult to judge at times. But it was nice and warm, so it was good.”
Play was suspended due to darkness at 6:07 p.m., with the entire afternoon wave yet to complete their round. The second round will resume at 7:45 a.m. Saturday.
Tied in second place at 8-under lie Spain’s Jon Rahm (66) and overnight co-leader Adam Hadwin of Canada who is 4-under for his round with eight holes left to play.
“I hit a lot of great tee shots today,” said Rahm. “A lot of good iron shots that didn’t end up in great spots.
“It’s golf and it’s what happens out here. The wind was shifting. When it shifts from east to east northeast or northeast, it’s a small difference on the compass, but when it comes to our shots it’s the difference between a shot being possibly into the wind to downwind.
“So it can happen. You get a wrong gust. The greens were a little bit softer today in some spots. Except 3 and 12 that were absolute cart path. So these are all things to take into consideration.”
American Wyndham Clark carded a 67 for a share of fourth place at 7-under alongside South Korean Sungjae Im, 6-under through 12 holes.
Overnight co-leader Nick Taylor of Canada was 1-under through 12 holes and lies in a five-way tie for sixth place at 6-under.
World number 1 Rory McIlroy (T18) opened with a 73 on Thursday and was 5-under through 13 before play was suspended having shot four birdies in five holes from the 2nd.
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