Jordan Smith of England carded a 65 for the second straight day to edge ahead of the pack and claim the 36-hole lead on Friday at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Smith’s second round began with an eagle-birdie burst on the first two holes at Colonial Country Club. It wasn’t until the par-4 14th that he made his first and only bogey of the tournament.
At 10-under-par 130, Smith holds a one-shot lead over Hideki Matsuyama of Japan (65), Brian Harman (66), Ryan Gerard (67) and Michael Thorbjornsen (65).
Gerard was one of six co-leaders who shot a 64 in the first round, but that group spread out across the leaderboard during the second round. J.J. Spaun is the only other one still in the top 10, as his 68 Friday left him at 8 under par and tied for sixth. Andrew Putnam shot an even-par 70 while Matt McCarty (71), Lee Hodges (71) and Tom Kim of South Korea (72) dropped several places on a day when 70 players broke 70.
Spaun sits two shots back along with Akshay Bhatia (65), Russell Henley (66), Brice Garnett (66) and Alex Smalley (67), who remains in contention for his first PGA Tour win two weeks after he was the surprise 54-hole leader at the PGA Championship.
Canadian A.J. Ewart fired a 63, the round of the day by two strokes, thanks in large part to a hole-in-one at the par-3 16th as part of his first nine. He faded his tee shot at the 197-yard hole perfectly onto the green and watched his ball roll a few feet straight into the cup.
Ewart trails Smith by three at 7 under, which ties him with countryman Mackenzie Hughes (67) as well as Michael Brennan (66) and Mac Meissner (67).
The cut line fell at 2 under par. Notables who failed to make the weekend included Tony Finau (even par), Camilo Villegas of Colombia (even), Webb Simpson (2 over), Rickie Fowler (3 over) and South Korea’s Sungjae Im (6 over).
–Field Level Media
