ATLANTA — After setting a PGA Tour “document” on the Tour Championship on Thursday, Scottie Scheffler continued to appear to be the perfect participant on the planet a day later.
But, Scheffler, regardless of obliterating East Lake off the tee, noticed his large lead dwindle from seven to 4 after posting a 5-under 66.
“I really feel like my swing is in a great place. I’ve hit it good final couple days,” Scheffler stated.
“Loads of high quality stuff on the market, and yeah, in a great place going into the weekend.”
Having a four-shot lead by way of 36 holes within the PGA Tour finale is about pretty much as good of a spot you may be in. However Scheffler has held sizable leads on the Tour Championship earlier than and has but to win the FedEx Cup. Nonetheless, the previous Texas Longhorn doesn’t really feel pressured by Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, who sit 4 and 5 strokes behind him, respectively.
“It’s the second spherical of a match. It’s the second spherical. I imply, it’s an extended match. I’m simply attempting to do my finest to remain on the market and execute pictures,” Scheffler stated.
“Right now, I did a fairly good job of that.”
You knew Scheffler was locked in together with his driver on the par-4 1st, probably the most difficult gap on the course. He blistered his tee ball 319 yards down the center of the golf green, someday after lacking the quick grass proper and making a bogey.
Scheffler then hit a 7-iron into this troublesome inexperienced advanced, nevertheless it took a tough bounce and missed the inexperienced left. The decrease trajectory, coupled with the firmness of the greens, led Scheffler’s ball to caroom into one among Andrew Inexperienced’s newly established assortment areas, organising a treacherous up-and-down from 30 yards away.
The reigning Masters champion hit his chip shot, nevertheless it didn’t resemble his otherworldly quick recreation. He left himself a 20-footer for par, then drained it.
“It was an superior par,” Scheffler stated.
“Among the finest up-and-downs I’ve had shortly. Nice option to begin the day actually. I’m sitting within the fairway, hoping to get an honest have a look at birdie. However finally, on No. 1, you’re simply attempting to make a 4. It’s a fairly exhausting gap. As I stated, you possibly can land it in the midst of the inexperienced and find yourself in a fairly robust spot.”
Longer par putts just like the one Scheffler made on the 1st assist gasoline momentum early on.
Two holes later, he made the primary of his six birdies of the day after sticking a wedge to 10 toes. He had lots of wedges on Friday, due to his excellent play off the tee. Having a wedge in your hand at East Lake seemingly results in loads of birdies.
Regardless of that, Scheffler felt like he missed some wonderful alternatives.
“Loads of putts didn’t miss the cup by very a lot,” Scheffler stated.
“However lots of high quality stuff on the market, yeah, in a great place going into the weekend.”
However, a two-hole stretch on the again 9 has stored issues considerably fascinating going into the ultimate 36 holes of the Tour Championship. Scheffler briefly misplaced his approach with the large stick.
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On the par-4 thirteenth, Scheffler missed his second fairway of the day and located the left bunker off the tee. He then hit a low, spiny lower out of the entice, a ball-flight that didn’t appear to be it belonged to the perfect participant on the planet. His Titleist 7 got here to relaxation in a fried egg lie within the greenside bunker, as he additionally short-sided himself. Even then, Scheffler made a miraculous restoration, giving himself a nine-footer for par. However he missed.
In the meantime, Morikawa, his enjoying associate, chipped in for birdie, a two-shot swing that lower Scheffler’s lead from seven to 5.
Then, on the subsequent gap, Scheffler missed the golf green left once more. This time, his ball settled down within the Bermuda tough among the many gallery, and he couldn’t discover the inexperienced in two. As a substitute, his second shot landed in a set space under the inexperienced and to the left. However in contrast to the first gap, Scheffler didn’t stand up and down. He settled for par whereas Morikawa made a 22-footer for birdie on the identical inexperienced, thus slicing his result in 4.
Moments later, the PGA Tour suspended play resulting from lightning within the space, which despatched Scheffler and Morikawa into the clubhouse for 90 minutes. Each gamers birdied two of their final three holes upon their return, thus retaining Scheffler’s four-shot lead intact.
However a four-shot benefit is far smaller than the seven-shot lead he held after day one.
But, Scheffler, regardless of these two misfires on 13 and 14, nonetheless hit the ball superbly off the tee all day. No one will catch him if he continues to do this.
Jack Milko is a golf employees author for SB Nation’s Enjoying By way of. Remember to try @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You possibly can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as nicely.
