- Ben James shot a bogey-free 64 to lead the World Wide Technology Championship.
- Peter Malnati is one shot back, with Zac Blair third.
- The cut is 5-under 139, and five players will finish their second rounds on Saturday morning.
Ben James made five consecutive birdies around the turn on Friday and finished with one more at the par-3 9th. His 8-under 64 took him to 15-under 129 and gave him a one-shot lead at the World Wide Technology Championship, played at Tiger Woods’ El Cardonal at Diamante.
The 64 followed an opening 65. Since turning professional out of Virginia in June, the 23-year-old has shot 65 or better in 14 of 46 rounds on Tour this season and owns a scoring average of 67.70. His 36-hole total of 129 ties his best on the PGA Tour, set at the Wyndham Championship, where he finished third.
“It’s weird, in college I was kind of someone that would shoot 2-, 3-under every time out and would have trouble going low,” James said. “But you adapt to your surroundings as humans, so I guess out here that’s what you have to do. I’ve been rolling it well and playing well, so nice to be shooting some low numbers.”
The run began at the par-4 17th, his eighth hole. James hit what was by his standards a pedestrian pitch to about 18 feet at the 18th, then holed the putt. Birdies at the first three holes followed, giving him five in a row, his longest birdie streak on Tour. He and Ben Kohles, tied seventh on 10-under, are the only two players without a bogey through 36 holes.
A second weekend lead
This is the second time James has led after any round on Tour, in his 22nd career start. The first came at the RBC Canadian Open in June, his professional debut, where a third-round 78 took him out of contention and he finished T54. He also had a good chance to win the Biltmore Championship Asheville in September before Jacob Bridgeman putted him out of it over the closing stretch.
His card for next year is already secure because he finished No. 1 in the PGA Tour University Ranking. He has seven top-25 finishes, four of them top-10s, in 12 starts this season and sits No. 62 in the FedExCup Fall standings. A win on Sunday would move him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking and earn him a place on the top tier of the PGA Tour’s new two-series structure in 2028.
“I’m doing everything right,” James said. “But for me, I’m just trying to win each shot, just do the best I can for each golf shot and not thinking ahead.”
Malnati one back
Peter Malnati was tied for the lead until he came up short of the green at the par-3 9th, his final hole, and missed a 12-foot par putt. His 64 left him at 14-under 130, his second-best 36-hole score in 327 Tour starts. He has not been this high on a leaderboard after two rounds since the 2022 Farmers Insurance Open.
The two-time Tour winner, who opened the Rocket Classic with a career-low 61 in July, is No. 157 in the FedExCup Fall standings. This is the first of the last three Fall events, after which the top 100 keep full status for next year, alongside players with other valid exemptions.
“I work really hard on my game and I haven’t had tons to show for that lately,” Malnati said. “So to not be in that position coming down the stretch on a Friday where … I don’t even have to think about the cut line, I can think about playing golf. That was fun.”
Zac Blair shot 68 to sit third on 12-under, and Stephan Jaeger is tied fourth on 11-under after a bogey-free 65, his third straight start inside the top 10 after 36 holes. World No. 23 Ryan Gerard, the highest-ranked player in the field, is tied sixth on 10-under. Guadalajara native Alvaro Ortiz is on 9-under.
Play was suspended for darkness at 5:48 p.m. local time, with five players still to finish. They resume at 7:20 a.m. on Saturday, and the third round will tee off from the first and 10th in groups of three between about 8:30 and 10:45 a.m. The cut is 5-under 139, with 73 professionals and two amateurs inside the line.
Related: Van Phillips & Matthew Cort Take Opening Lead at European Senior Masters
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World Wide Technology Championship Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | To Par | Thru | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben James | -15 | F | 65 | 64 | 129 |
| 2 | Peter Malnati | -14 | F | 66 | 64 | 130 |
| 3 | Zac Blair | -12 | F | 64 | 68 | 132 |
| T4 | Stephan Jaeger | -11 | F | 68 | 65 | 133 |
| T4 | Denny McCarthy | -11 | F | 68 | 65 | 133 |
| T6 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | -10 | F | 71 | 63 | 134 |
| T6 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | -10 | F | 70 | 64 | 134 |
| T6 | Ben Kohles | -10 | F | 68 | 66 | 134 |
| T6 | Zach Bauchou | -10 | F | 67 | 67 | 134 |
| T6 | Austin Eckroat | -10 | F | 68 | 66 | 134 |
| T6 | Lucas Glover | -10 | F | 70 | 64 | 134 |
| T6 | Ryan Gerard | -10 | F | 66 | 68 | 134 |
| T6 | Blades Brown | -10 | F | 66 | 68 | 134 |
| T6 | Keith Mitchell | -10 | F | 68 | 66 | 134 |
| T6 | Kensei Hirata | -10 | F | 65 | 69 | 134 |
| T16 | Beau Hossler | -9 | F | 66 | 69 | 135 |
| T16 | David Ford | -9 | F | 67 | 68 | 135 |
| T16 | Ben Silverman | -9 | F | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T16 | Alvaro Ortiz | -9 | F | 69 | 66 | 135 |
| T16 | Matthieu Pavon | -9 | F | 65 | 70 | 135 |
| T16 | Chris Kirk | -9 | F | 63 | 72 | 135 |
| T16 | Paul Peterson | -9 | F | 68 | 67 | 135 |
| T23 | John Parry | -8 | F | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T23 | Cam Davis | -8 | F | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T23 | David Lipsky | -8 | F | 71 | 65 | 136 |
| T23 | Jesper Svensson | -8 | F | 70 | 66 | 136 |
| T23 | Trace Crowe | -8 | F | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T23 | Chad Ramey | -8 | F | 68 | 68 | 136 |
| T23 | Ben Martin | -8 | F | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T23 | Kevin Streelman | -8 | F | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T23 | Rico Hoey | -8 | F | 67 | 69 | 136 |
| T23 | Harry Hall | -8 | F | 65 | 71 | 136 |
| T23 | Taylor Montgomery | -8 | F | 65 | 71 | 136 |
| T23 | Alejandro Tosti | -8 | F | 66 | 70 | 136 |
| T23 | Jeffrey Kang | -8 | F | 69 | 67 | 136 |
| T36 | Tyler Duncan | -7 | F | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T36 | Emiliano Grillo | -7 | F | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T36 | Patton Kizzire | -7 | F | 66 | 71 | 137 |
| T36 | Jordan Smith | -7 | F | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T36 | Jackson Koivun | -7 | F | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T36 | Ben Griffin | -7 | F | 70 | 67 | 137 |
| T36 | Haotong Li | -7 | F | 71 | 66 | 137 |
| T36 | John VanDerLaan | -7 | F | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T36 | Jay Leng(a) | -7 | F | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T36 | Brice Garnett | -7 | F | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T36 | Will Gordon | -7 | F | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T36 | David Skinns | -7 | F | 69 | 68 | 137 |
| T36 | Adam Svensson | -7 | F | 68 | 69 | 137 |
| T36 | Andrew Putnam | -7 | F | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T36 | Hayden Springer | -7 | F | 67 | 70 | 137 |
| T36 | Adrien Dumont de Chassart | -7 | 16 | 67 | - | 67 |
| T52 | Pierceson Coody | -6 | F | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T52 | Steven Fisk | -6 | F | 73 | 65 | 138 |
| T52 | Erik van Rooyen | -6 | F | 69 | 69 | 138 |
| T52 | Neal Shipley | -6 | F | 68 | 70 | 138 |
| T52 | Tyler Collet | -6 | F | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T52 | Christo Lamprecht | -6 | F | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T52 | Max Greyserman | -6 | F | 67 | 71 | 138 |
| T52 | Max McGreevy | -6 | F | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T52 | Tony Finau | -6 | F | 70 | 68 | 138 |
| T52 | Marcelo Rozo | -6 | 17 | 69 | - | 69 |
| T62 | Rasmus Højgaard | -5 | F | 70 | 69 | 139 |
| T62 | Seamus Power | -5 | F | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T62 | Michael Kim | -5 | F | 73 | 66 | 139 |
| T62 | Luke Clanton | -5 | F | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T62 | Isaiah Salinda | -5 | F | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| T62 | Austin Hitt | -5 | F | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T62 | Chandler Blanchet | -5 | F | 75 | 64 | 139 |
| T62 | Nick Dunlap | -5 | F | 64 | 75 | 139 |
| T62 | Nick Taylor | -5 | F | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T62 | Kevin Yu | -5 | F | 69 | 70 | 139 |
| T62 | Patrick Rodgers | -5 | F | 68 | 71 | 139 |
| T62 | Willie Mack III | -5 | F | 73 | 66 | 139 |
| T62 | Kristoffer Ventura | -5 | 17 | 68 | - | 68 |
| T62 | Preston Stout(a) | -5 | 16 | 71 | - | 71 |
| T76 | Kevin Roy | -4 | F | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| T76 | Garrick Higgo | -4 | F | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| T76 | Karl Vilips | -4 | F | 66 | 74 | 140 |
| T76 | Christiaan Bezuidenhout | -4 | F | 71 | 69 | 140 |
| T76 | Patrick Fishburn | -4 | F | 70 | 70 | 140 |
| T81 | Hank Lebioda | -3 | F | 69 | 72 | 141 |
| T81 | Davis Riley | -3 | F | 71 | 70 | 141 |
| T81 | Joe Highsmith | -3 | F | 66 | 75 | 141 |
| T84 | Billy Horschel | -2 | F | 70 | 72 | 142 |
| T84 | Camilo Villegas | -2 | F | 68 | 74 | 142 |
| T84 | Johnny Keefer | -2 | F | 67 | 75 | 142 |
| T84 | Rafael Campos | -2 | F | 71 | 71 | 142 |
| T84 | Dylan Wu | -2 | F | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| T89 | Taylor Moore | -1 | F | 71 | 72 | 143 |
| T89 | Zecheng Dou | -1 | F | 72 | 71 | 143 |
| T89 | Joel Dahmen | -1 | F | 73 | 70 | 143 |
| T89 | Jackson Suber | -1 | F | 69 | 74 | 143 |
| T89 | Sami Valimaki | -1 | F | 69 | 74 | 143 |
| T89 | Alejandro Madariaga | -1 | F | 69 | 74 | 143 |
| T95 | Chandler Phillips | Par | F | 72 | 72 | 144 |
| T95 | Vince Whaley | Par | F | 73 | 71 | 144 |
| T95 | Mark Hubbard | Par | F | 74 | 70 | 144 |
| T95 | William Mouw | Par | F | 73 | 71 | 144 |
| T95 | Taylor Pendrith | Par | F | 68 | 76 | 144 |
| T100 | Lee Hodges | +1 | F | 74 | 71 | 145 |
| T100 | Matt Kuchar | +1 | F | 68 | 77 | 145 |
| T100 | Tom Hoge | +1 | F | 69 | 76 | 145 |
| T100 | Takumi Kanaya | +1 | F | 69 | 76 | 145 |
| T100 | Mackenzie Hughes | +1 | F | 72 | 73 | 145 |
| T105 | Harry Higgs | +2 | F | 80 | 66 | 146 |
| T105 | Aaron Wise | +2 | F | 72 | 74 | 146 |
| T105 | Danny Walker | +2 | F | 70 | 76 | 146 |
| T105 | Muzzy Donohue | +2 | F | 69 | 77 | 146 |
| T105 | Marco Penge | +2 | F | 73 | 73 | 146 |
| T105 | Davis Chatfield | +2 | 16 | 73 | - | 73 |
| T111 | Justin Lower | +3 | F | 70 | 77 | 147 |
| T111 | Pontus Nyholm | +3 | F | 69 | 78 | 147 |
| T111 | Nicholas Marchese | +3 | F | 73 | 74 | 147 |
| T114 | A.J. Ewart | +4 | F | 73 | 75 | 148 |
| T114 | Nathan Tseng | +4 | F | 77 | 71 | 148 |
| T114 | Nicholas Lindheim | +4 | F | 79 | 69 | 148 |
| 117 | Gordon Sargent | +5 | F | 76 | 73 | 149 |
| 118 | Lyon Lazare | +7 | F | 74 | 77 | 151 |
| 119 | Jimmy Stanger | +13 | F | 75 | 82 | 157 |
| 120 | Jorge Villar | +33 | 17 | 87 | - | 87 |
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.