Australian golf star Min Woo Lee drained an unimaginable putt to safe a birdie on the seventeenth gap as rising star Wyndham Clark opened up a four-stroke lead on the Gamers Championship.
Having battled by way of the entrance 9 with two bogeys, Lee recovered with birdies on the tenth, twelfth and fifteenth holes to take a seat two-under par for the second spherical.
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However it was on the par-three seventeenth when he produced simply his greatest shot of the day.
Lee hit his tee shot onto the inexperienced to arrange a 60-foot putt for a birdie, which he subsequently nailed.
In the meantime, Clark shot a second-straight spherical of 65 at TPC Sawgrass to take a commanding place on the leaderboard.
Xander Schauffele and Canadian Nick Taylor have been each 4 strokes behind Clark, who was on 14-under par 130 after 36 holes at TPC Sawgrass, however world quantity two Rory McIlroy fell again after capturing a one-over 73.
World primary Scottie Scheffler battled a neck harm however stayed in competition with a 69 that left him six strokes again.
However Clark will take some beating if he can preserve the degrees he has proven together with his sport over the previous two days as he chases down the $4.5 million winner’s purse on the US PGA Tour occasion at Ponte Vedra Seashore, Florida.
The 30-year-old American has risen from outdoors the highest 100 on this planet rankings a 12 months in the past to sitting in fifth place heading into this match.
He introduced his arrival with victory on the Wells Fargo Championship final Could after which adopted up a month later together with his triumph on the US Open at Los Angeles Nation Membership.
Final month, he added a victory at Pebble Seashore, one other of the tour’s “signature” tournaments, to his resume and now has his eyes set on what was as soon as thought of golf’s ‘fifth main.’
His 130 for the opening two rounds is the second-lowest halfway whole in Gamers historical past and his closing 9 holes on Friday, on the entrance facet, began with 4 straight birdies and ended with one other on the par-5 ninth.
Clark steams forward at Gamers | 02:05
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Highlights have been an 18-foot birdie putts on the sixth after a 22-footer to save lots of par on the earlier gap.
Clark, who completed second at Bay Hill final week, rejected the concept that he solely really zones in when it issues most.
“I simply actually don’t know what it’s,” he mentioned. “I want to play nice each week. I actually checked out how Scottie (Scheffler) has been enjoying this 12 months and final 12 months and I exploit him as somebody to attempt to sustain with and he performs good each week.
“So my factor is simply attempt to be constant and with our schedule now too, you type of solely play massive occasions, in order that’s a part of it as properly.” Schauffele’s push may have been undone by a double bogey when he discovered water on the par-5 eleventh however he bounced again with an eagle on the sixteenth, the place an outstanding fairway shot left him with a nine-footer.
“It was only a horrible swing. Was a bit uneasy,” he mentioned of the double bogey.
“I watched two nice pictures into that inexperienced and thought I may pile one on there and kind of minimize the lead much more, and to go backwards on a par-5 is rarely what we’re attempting to do. Then compounding a horrible wedge shot on prime of it. So completely happy to birdie the subsequent and a bonus to make the eagle on 16.”
Taylor’s 68 featured three bogeys however he stayed inside distance of the lead because of birdies on 15 and 16 following very good strategy pictures.
Scheffler needed to obtain consideration from a PGA Tour physiotherapist. “I hit a shot on my second gap right this moment and I felt a bit of one thing in my neck, after which I attempted to hit my tee shot on 12, and that’s once I may barely get the membership again,” he mentioned.
“I received some therapy, perhaps it loosened up a tiny bit, however many of the day I used to be just about labouring to get the membership by some means away from me.
“I did sufficient I felt prefer to preserve myself considerably within the match, and in order that’s actually all I may ask for. The way in which I used to be getting across the course, the best way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I used to be going to have the ability to proceed enjoying.” The prospect of a pre-Masters increase for McIlroy rapidly pale. The Northern Irishman made three bogeys and three birdies on his first six holes however made a double bogey on the par-4 14th to drop again.