ATLANTA — Ryan Gerard had several near misses this year. Three, to be exact.
He’s hoping not to have a fourth.
Gerard, making his Tour Championship debut, is tied for the lead with Norway’s Viktor Hovland, at 10-under 130 after the second round Friday at East Lake Golf Club. The finale of the FedEx Cup playoffs would be a prime tournament for that breakthrough.
“I’ve played a lot of golf tournaments in my life,” Gerard said. “I’ve won a few golf tournaments in my life. I feel comfortable that I’m doing the right things, we’re executing the right shots, we have the right mentality to go out and kind of close it and kind of be the dog under pressure. Just go out there and enjoy it.
“That’s kind of what we play for is to have a chance on the back nine coming down the stretch on Sunday, and that’s kind of what we prepare for, and we’ll be ready.”
Gerard was second at the two season-opening events at Sony Open (behind Chris Gotterup) and American Express Championship (T2 behind Scottie Scheffler). He was also second at the Memorial Tournament (J.T. Poston).
Gerard shot a second-round, 5-under 65 to match his opening round. Hovland, the 2023 FedEx Cup champion, was tied for second after the first round and shot a 4-under 66 that included a birdie on the 18th to pull into a tie with Gerard.
Hovland credited his driver with his success so far. Not that he can tell you why things have been better. He hit 11 of 14 fairways Thursday and 12 of 14 Friday.
“Don’t even know, but I found something that seems to be going straight, so very happy with that,” Hovland said.
Gerard’s round included a 79-foot putt on No. 7. He rebounded after an opening-hole bogey with six birdies, including one at No. 18.
Collin Morikawa and Gotterup are tied for third at 9 under following rounds of 67. They are followed by Scheffler and Cameron Young for fifth at 8 under. Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 golfer and FedEx Cup points leader, is still in position to win his second FedEx Cup title in three years.
Scheffler posted his 3-under 67 despite back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 and a costly one at No. 17. They were the first blemishes on his card for the tournament. He also had six birdies, including four in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 6-10.
Scheffler has been the model of consistency on the PGA Tour, so this has come to be expected. He won only twice, including in the playoff opener, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but has 12 top-five finishes on tour this year.
Scheffler, who went to the driving range following his round, weighed in on the tricky wind conditions Friday, particularly the direction.
“This is a golf course where a lot of times I’m really looking at that American flag over there and just trying to see where the wind is at, and that’s kind of where we trust because it’s in the middle of the golf course,” said Scheffler, whose approach at No. 17 sailed over the green. “It doesn’t blow very hard here very often, but it does move around quite a bit.
There must be something about playing by yourself. The field was an uneven 29 after J.J. Spaun withdrew following a partial round on Thursday. Min Woo Lee of Australia was paired with Spaun in the first round and went 6 under, of his 8-under total, over the final 13 holes.
Young went out first and by himself for the second round Friday and shot an 8-under 62. He was tied for the lead at 8 under by the time he finished his round with an eagle on No. 18. He stayed there or just off the lead all day.
“Playing by yourself, it’s strange for a second,” Young said. “Kind of when you see the pairing, it’s strange, and then once you get into it you don’t have to wait, you don’t have to rush. You can kind of just do everything you’d like to do the whole day. So, it’s easy in that sense.”
Other players of note include defending champion Tommy Fleetwood of England (70) at 4 under and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (69) at 3 under. Lee, the first-round leader, shot a 3-over 73 and fell to 5 under. His round included a triple bogey on the par-4 fifth hole.
–Chris Vivlamore, Field Level Media
