The Australian golfer Adam Scott produced a 69 that was two strokes better than par on Friday, giving him a one-stroke advantage going into the weekend’s play in the BMW Championship at Wilmington (Del.) Nation Membership.
After two rounds, Scott’s score is at 8 under par; however, it might have been 10 under par if not for a late double bogey that he committed. The second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs has a leaderboard that is stacked with stars due to the fact that there are fifteen players that are within three shots of Scott.
There is a four-way tie for second place at 7 under par between the No. 1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler (67 on Friday), Jordan Spieth (67), Cameron Younger (68), and Corey Conners (67) of Canada. At this point, the defending FedEx Cup winner Patrick Cantlay (68), Xander Schauffele (69), Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (68), Cam Davis of Australia (67), and Scott Stallings (68) are tied for sixth place.
Shane Lowry (71) of Ireland and Hideki Matsuyama (67) of Japan are both at 5 under par, and they are tied for ninth place with Joaquin Niemann (68) of Chile, Kurt Kitayama (66), Aaron Sensible (68), and Harold Varner III of the United States (71).
When Scott came up to the tee box on the par-4 seventeenth hole, he already had four birdies and no bogeys on his scorecard. However, when his drive missed poorly to the right and snuggled below a tree, his attempt to put up into the green fell short and landed in thick rough. It ultimately left him in a position to make a double bogey with two putts, which cut into his advantage.
Everything serves as a useful reminder for the weekend that I really need to keep it under control and that I must ensure that not too many things wander off the map or get out of place around here.
On the other hand, I am feeling strong as I go into the weekend. I cannot even tell you when the last time was that I was in charge of a match.”
When Jordan Spieth scored his fifth birdie of the day with an 18-foot putt at hole 17, he temporarily equaled Adam Scott for the lead at 8 under par. On the other hand, he finished with a bogey on the par-4 18th hole.
On his way to finishing with five birdies and one bogey, Scheffler started the round with four birdies in his first six holes. After winning four times in a row over the course of six starts earlier in the season, with the most recent victory coming at the Masters, Scheffler has not yet returned to the winner’s circle.
First-round leader Keegan Bradley followed up his 64 with a 74 to lower his score to four strokes below par after the first two rounds. He finished in a tie for seventeenth place with Sam Burns (69), Okay.H. Lee (70) of South Korea, and England’s Russell Henley (71) and Tyrrell Hatton (71).
There was no 36-hole cut made on Friday, but noteworthy players who are a long way off the pace include Jon Rahm of Spain (1 over) and Tony Finau of the United States (3 over).
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