Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Norway’s Viktor Hovland and American Ryan Gerard led a crowded field chasing the PGA Tour Championship’s $10 million top prize Friday at the final event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Gerard, who has one PGA Tour victory to date and is playing in his first Tour Championship, made six birdies, including an epic 78-foot putt that rolled the length of the seventh green. He seized the clubhouse lead with a five-under-par 65, before Hovland — playing in the day’s final pair — birdied the 18th hole for a 66 to share the overnight lead. The pair finished on 10-under at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, a stroke clear of American duo Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup.
A further shot back were world number one Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Cameron Young, who catapulted from rock bottom to tied-fifth with a day’s best round of 62. “Solid so far. Just got to keep it rolling,” said Gerard, who insisted the pressure of entering the weekend in first place would not be an issue. “Love playing with the lead. Way better than playing in last,” he said.
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After two early bogeys, Hovland had rolled in a 27-foot putt on the par-three 15th, and saved par on 16 despite smashing a putt from off the green ten feet past the hole. Despite his position, the Norwegian expressed frustration that he was struggling to find the consistency that propelled him to win the 2023 Tour Championship. “It almost pisses me off more because I know that, ‘oh, I used to be able to do that,’ and now it feels a lot more difficult to do that,” he said. “It’s not so much that I’m hitting those crazy wayward shots right now, it’s just that I know when I’m swinging it doesn’t feel quite right.”
Min Woo Lee had entered Friday with a two-shot cushion, but had a nightmare round. The Australian made triple bogey on five, needing two attempts to hack out of the rough, laying up then three-putting. He shanked his tee shot on eight into the water for bogey. His round of 73 was the second-worst of the tournament so far. Lee had scored 62 a day earlier, playing solo due to his partner JJ Spaun’s withdrawal with a shoulder injury. On Friday, with 29 players remaining, it was Cameron Young’s turn to play alone, and remarkably he scored 62 too.
“It seems to be a strong pattern. It’s a bit strange,” admitted Young, who said it had felt like he was “playing a practice round.” “You don’t have to wait for anybody else. Nothing weird happens. Just got in a really nice rhythm and kept going.” Young made seven birdies in his first 11 holes, and ended with an eagle.
– ‘Bad gusts’ – Scheffler had a productive if inconsistent day. The world number one recovered from back-to-back bogeys to pull within a shot of the lead, then bogeyed 17 as winds picked up to make conditions trickier in the closing stages. “I watched it get in the jet stream up there and fly…it felt like any moment they could blow the horn,” said Scheffler. “Yeah, just bad gusts.”
Rory McIlroy suffered an embarrassing double bogey, twice chipping the ball 45 feet from the uphill third green, only for the ball to roll back to his feet each time. The six-time Major winner managed two late birdies for a round of 69, but sits tied for 23rd on three-under par, seven shots off the pace.
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