Xander Schauffele on Friday sank his fifth birdie of the day on the 18th hole to take a one stroke lead during a wet and windy second round at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Kapalua, Hawaii.
The 26-year-old American fired his second bogey-free round of the tournament to keep his hopes of a title defense alive amid ever-changing weather conditions at the oceanside course.
“This is rain and wind that we don’t really play too often in, but, fortunately, it’s kind of warm,” Schauffele said after his second round 68 to sit nine-under-par for the tournament.
Photo: AFP
“It was an interesting day,” Schauffele said. “I wasn’t thinking about my score, because I was trying to stay as dry and warm as possible.”
The round of the day belonged to another past champion, American Patrick Reed, who mixed eight birdies with a bogey for a seven-under-par 66 and a share of second place with the overnight leader Joaquin Niemann of Chile.
Fellow American Rickie Fowler shot a solid two-under-par 71 to claim sole possession of fourth place.
Reed, the tournament’s 2015 champion, entered the first PGA event of the year after two disappointing performances at the end of last year.
He was assessed a two-stroke penalty at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas in early December for appearing to deliberately improve his lie in a bunker and ultimately finished in third place.
At last month’s Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne, he posted a disappointing 1-3-0 record as a member of the winning American side, but looked on the bright side of his experience in Australia.
“Any time you can go out and play for your country and play for others, it means a lot, especially to me,” said Reed, who has also represented the US at Ryder Cup competitions, and is nicknamed “Captain America.”
The wind was forecast to die down at the Plantation Course for yesterday’s round three.
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