Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Davis Thompson closed with a birdie to seize a one-stroke lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, with Rory McIlroy three adrift after Friday’s second round of the PGA Genesis Invitational. Thompson landed his third shot at the par-5 18th only 12 inches from the hole and tapped in for a six-under par 66, taking the solo lead. The 25-year-old American was on eight-under 136 after 36 holes at Torrey Pines near San Diego, where the event was moved from Riviera due to Los Angeles wildfires damage.
“It was great,” Thompson said. “I felt like I put myself in good position off the tee. Got off to a great start, made some birdies on the front nine. It was kind of a roller coaster on the back nine. Finished off strong…tapping in for birdie at 18 is always good.” Thompson, who needed only 23 putts in his round, seeks his second PGA title after winning the John Deere Classic last July. “This course is a little tougher than where John Deere is,” Thompson noted. “I drive it well. Have to use my driver. Hope I can put myself in good position.”
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Scheffler, whose season start was delayed by a right hand injury, fired a 67 with three birdies and an eagle despite finding only five of 14 fairways in his round. He reached 13 of 18 greens in regulation and finished bogey-free. “A lot of it was missing on the correct sides,” Scheffler said. “That’s part of shaking the rust off from being injured as well as the short game continuing to improve as I start to play more. It was definitely good to have a day where I felt like I didn’t play flawless golf, but the scorecard was clean.”
Overnight leader Denny McCarthy shot 70 to grab third on 138, one stroke ahead of third-ranked McIlroy, a winner two weeks ago at Pebble Beach who fired a 67. “I’ve played well,” McIlroy said. “I’m in a good spot going into the weekend.”
Thompson made a 28-foot birdie putt at the second and then landed his approach four inches from the hole to set up a tap-in birdie at the fifth. He birdied the par-3 eighth from just inside eight feet. He reeled off three birdies in a row with a 26-foot chip in from the rough at the par-3 11th, a 40-yard pitch in from the fairway at the par-4 12th, and an 11-foot putt at the par-5 13th. However, Thompson missed the green and made bogeys at 14 and 15, missing par putts from five and seven feet, only to sink a birdie putt from just inside 27 feet at the par-3 16th before his closing birdie.
“Sometimes you kind of have to ride the wave,” Thompson said. “When you’re playing a really hard golf course like this, you’re going to face adversity. You’ve just got to be able to bounce back and get in your own lane and stick to your process.”
Reigning Olympic champion Scheffler, a back-nine starter, made a 20-foot birdie putt at the par-5 13th, birdied from just outside seven feet at the par-5 18th, and rolled in a birdie putt from just beyond 15 feet at the par-3 third. At the par-5 sixth, Scheffler holed out from a greenside bunker for eagle. “I’m pretty satisfied with the way I scored,” he said. “I was out of position a lot, but did a good job of muscling some shots up there on the green and getting up and down when I needed to as well.”
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