Australia’s Rod Pampling on Friday recovered from a poor start to take a one-shot lead in the second round of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas.
A day after carding an 11-under 60, Pampling followed up with a respectable 68 at TPC at Summerlin, where Tiger Woods 20 years ago clinched the first of his 79 PGA Tour victories.
Pampling posted a 14-under 128 halfway total, while the US’ Brooks Koepka (67) lipped out a five-foot par putt at the last to slip out of a tie for the lead.
Photo: AFP
Aaron Wise, the US collegiate champion who turned professional in June, ended the day in third place at 12-under after 14 holes.
He was among 19 players who could not complete the round before darkness fell, including Taiwan’s Pan Cheng-tsung, who had slipped to a share of 26th place when play was suspended due to insufficient light.
Pampling described his two early bogeys as “two silly mistakes,” but remained calm in the knowledge that his swing still felt good enough to carry him down the stretch.
“I didn’t panic,” the two-time PGA Tour winner told the Golf Channel.
“You’ve just got to trust yourself that you’re playing well. I knew it was good so I let it come to me,” he added.
He turned his day around with a 12-foot birdie at his sixth hole, before making a 100-yard up-and-down at the next to save par.
“That just righted the ship,” he said. “I played nice after that.”
Meanwhile, Koepka was not quite firing on all cylinders, but he credited a hot putter with keeping him near the lead.
“I’ve made a bunch of putts,” he said, adding that his game “was kind of sloppy at points. I’ve got to clean a few things up, just tighten up the driver.”
Additional reporting by staff writer
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