Recap of the day: England’s Matthew Fitzpatrick was first to set a tough clubhouse target. His 6-under-par 64 vaulted him to 9-under 131 and for those who finished around him that was far too good. Next best was a crop of players who finished 36 holes on 5-under 135: Alex Noren (69), Webb Simpson (66), Ian Poulter (69), Justin Rose (68) and Brooks Koepka (67). Bubba Watson (70) would join that pack but another group emerged just ahead of them yet still two shy of the leader on 7-under. It included Patrick Cantlay (68), Cameron Smith (68), Jon Rahm (71) and Billy Horschel (66). Japan’s Shugo Imahira sneaked in-between the chasers, solo sixth, on 6-under after a 69.
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Leaderboard: -9 Matthew Fitzpatrick, -7 Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, Billy Horschel, -6 Shugo Imahira, -5 Alex Noren, Webb Simpson, Ian Poulter, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson.
Notables: -4 Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, -3 Justin Thomas, -2 Dustin Johnson, E Jordan Spieth
Low round of the day: Fitzpatrick’s 64
Revised outright betting: Fitzpatrick 9/2, Rahm 5/1, Cantlay 6/1, Horschel 10/1, Koepka 10/1, Smith 14/1, McIlroy 14/1
Saturday weather forecast
A nice day. Mostly sunny, temperatures in the low 80s, a mild breeze of about 6 mph and almost no chance of rain.
Leaders at 36 holes
Matthew Fitzpatrick (64, 131) – Opened with four birdies from the get go, made an error at the eighth, and then added another three par breakers on the way home. Has landed 28-of-36 greens in regulation and no-one has found more.
Patrick Cantlay (68, 133) – Hit the turn in 2-under, gave both shots away at the par-4 12th, but circled 16 and 18. Struggled with the putter in round two but leads SG: Putting for the week on 4.858. Found only eight fairways in round one and just five in round two.
Cameron Smith (68, 133) – Found water with his approach to the last and nearly holed the chip which followed, but had to settle for bogey. He leads the field for SG: Tee to Green for the week on 4.835.
Jon Rahm (71, 133) – Eight birdies and no bogeys on Thursday; three birdies, four bogeys on Friday, but the three par breakers came in his last six holes as he fought hard. Ranks second for the week in SG: Putting on 4.621.
Billy Horschel (66, 133) – Four birdies, one eagle-3 and two bogeys in a sixth second round sub-70 in his last seven starts at TPC Southwind. Seeking a fifth career top ten at the course.
Fate of the favorites
Dustin Johnson (69, 138) – A colossally messy effort with three bogeys, one double bogey and three birdies before he’d hit the 12th tee. Closed with three birdies in four holes.
Brooks Koepka (67, 135) – Missed half the greens in regulation, but such details don’t matter if you can go 9-for-9 for scrambling. Exchanged four birdies and one bogey (at the par-5 third). Had gained 3.026 strokes on the greens when he signed his card.
Rory McIlroy (67, 136) – In the first round he tossed four shots away around the turn, but no such wastefulness in Friday – in fact he went bogey-free despite landing only 10-of-18 greens in regulation. Like Koepka he was operating at 100% in scrambling. Leads the Tour for SG: Tee to Green, but only 29th in the field when he signed his card.
Quotes
Justin Rose (68) – “I’m happy, especially today. I never panicked and the putter warmed up on the back nine. That was the key to a good score. For a while the more I learned about putting the worse I got. Now I focus on my skill sets rather than work on the stroke.”
Brooks Koepka (67) – “A little tired, but I like where my game is at. I missed so many putts that burned the edges but I can’t complain. It’s frustrating.”
Matthew Fitzpatrick (64) – “Just gave myself plenty of chances and these greens are as good as we play all year. I’ve been getting a bit more aggressive. Put myself in a good position for the weekend.”
Rory McIlroy (68) – “I drove it well again. No bogeys but no birdies really. A good round, but need to hang around. Greens are rolling really good, but the grain caught me out a little. It’s a course you have to respect. It’s bunched so there’s a chance.”
Cameron Smith (68) – “Pretty pleased. Didn’t hit as many good putts as yesterday. This Bermuda rough, there’s nothing quite like it, you never know how it’s going to come out.”
Road to victory at TPC Southwind
2018 Dustin Johnson – R1: 13th, R2: 1st, R3: 1st
2017 Daniel Berger – R1: 48th, R2: 34th, R3: 9th
2016 Daniel Berger – R1: 10th, R2: 1st, R3: 1st
2015 Fabian Gomez – R1: 8th, R2: 4th, R3: 1st
2014 Ben Crane – R1: 1st, R2: 1st, R3: 1st
Notes: No less than 11 of the last 23 winners at TPC Southwind (admittedly in a normal PGA Tour event) went on to claim the win from a halfway lead. However, weekend fightbacks are far from out of the question. Berger got himself back into it from T34 and in all five of those winners were outside the top ten at this stage.
Fate of the halfway leaders at TPC Southwind – where did they finish?
2018 Dustin Johnson 1st
2017 Charl Schwartzel 2nd, Chez Reavie 4th, Sebastian Munoz 60th
2016 Daniel Berger 1st
2015 Brooks Koepka 3rd
2014 Ben Crane 1st
Notes: Since 1996 34 men have held or shared the 36 hole lead and, as noted above, 11 of them eventually earned the win. Between 1998 and 2008 11 of those leading at halfway fell outside the top ten. But since 2009 only one of 13 has done so (Munoz – and he did so spectacularly)
Focus on – Matthew Fitzpatrick
The Englishman has a secret weapon this week – his caddie Billy Foster, long-time bagman of Lee Westwood. “Having Billy on the bag is good,” Fitzpatrick said after his round. “He won round here with Lee so he knows what he’s doing. We talk about everything and then decide he’s right.” This is only the second time he has found himself in the top three at halfway in a PGA Tour event. The last time he ended the week T13 in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational. In all he has been top three after 36 holes 11 times worldwide and has earned three wins from that situation.
Focus on – Cameron Smith
The Aussie is currently ranked eighth in the International Standings for the Presidents Cup team later this year and he is desperate to play it on home soil. With that in mind the next few weeks will really matter and he knows it. Taking advantage of his current position would go a long way to booking his place at Royal Melbourne on the team of Ernie Els.
