Out of the early wave, World No. 251 Russell Knox rode two eagles to a 4-under 34-33=67 in R2 of The Genesis Invitational to reach 7-under 135, up eight spots to T4, a distant nine in arrears of leader Joaquin Niemann, who’s carded consecutive 63s.
The NE Florida resident lamented afterwards (link below) that he’s had “zero success here and every time I go around the course, I mean, you catch little things.” He opened with 68 (5 birdies, 2 bogeys), his first sub-70 lap at The Riv in seven tries, and chases with two bogeys, two birdie-2s, and a pair of eagle-3s in R2 for his first made cut in his fourth visit. On eight (of 14) fairways and 15 greens in regulation, the 36-year-old gained 2.452 strokes on approach and eked out a 0.163 SG: Putting at last check, highlighted by 3s at 1 and 11, each from between 11 and 18 feet. He arrived off a couple of T33s at last week’s WM Phoenix Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach, and is chasing his second top 10 of the season in 12 events, first since the Sony four starts ago, where he was T37 at the midpoint (67-67-64-65).