PGA Tour: WGC-HSBC Mid-Tournament Check-In at Sheshan

The PGA Tour is in Shanghai to play the WGC-HSBC, and it’s time to check-in at the halfway mark.

When you look to the top of the WGC-HSBC leaderboard, there should be no surprise at most of the golfers who lead this week’s PGA Tour event.

Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott, Xander Schauffele. They sit in 2nd, 4th, and 5th, respectively. You would expect to see them in the top five in the midst of a tournament.

Sung-jae Im is currently in 3rd place, and may not be as well known to most fans of the PGA Tour. He has been playing quite well though, with a second-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a T-3rd place finish at the Zozo Championship last week. Not bad for a 21-year-old.

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Currently leading the tournament is someone that is much more well-known on the European Tour. Matthew Fitzpatrick is sitting at -11 with a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy. Fitzpatrick is 4th in the Race to Dubai leaderboard and has been playing well on the European Tour so far this season, with a 2nd place finish at both the Italian Open and the Scandanavian Invitation.

He has had nearly a perfect tournament for far, carding 12 birdies, with his lone bogey coming during his round one 66 on the 10th hole.

Crazily enough, Rory McIlroy has five bogeys so far in the tournament, even while being in 2nd place. He was able to make up for his two bogeys in the 2nd round with an eagle on 18.

There are only a small amount of golfers within shouting distance of Fitzpatrick. Nine golfers sit within five shots, including day one leader Haotong Li. Li shot 64 in round one, which included seven birdies, one bogey, and one eagle. He followed it up with an even-par 72 and sits in a T-6th place.

Paul Waring made the largest jump on day two, making it into the top 10 in the current standings at the WGC-HSBC Champions event. After opening with a +1 73, he shot a clean 65 on day two, with five birdies on the front nine, then eight straight pars before eagling the 18th hole. He had the only 65 of the day, shooting two shots better than anyone else.

Once again, this a tournament with no cuts and only 78 entrants. The only one who won’t be playing this weekend is Ian Poulter, who has withdrawn from the tournament after shooting 73-74.

There is another Englishman named Matt who sits near the top of the leaderboard. Only in the case of Matt Wallace, you need to reverse sort to see his name. After an opening-round 69, he shot 84 on day two. His round had one birdie, six bogeys, a double, and then… gulp… a Quintuple-bogey on the par 5 8th hole. Having a 10 on your scorecard is never good regardless of what level you are at, much more so on the PGA Tour.

Francesco Molinari, Hideki Matsuyama, and Kevin Kisner join Waring in jumping up the leaderboard. 38, 38, and 37 spots, respectively, they each shot 67 during the second round to give themselves a shot at making a run over the weekend. Kisner holds the best chance, as he shot 72 in round one, and is currently T-11th.

Danny Willett joins Matt Wallace in dropping down the leaderboard, falling 46 spots after shooting 77. Ryo Ishikawa fell 52 spots after shooting 79. Like Wallace, he shot 69 in day one, making his second round much more painful.

There is quite the jumble of golfers in the middle of the WGC-HSBC leaderboard. 53 golfers sit between -5 and +2, meaning we are likely going to see some big leaderboard changes throughout round three.

As this week’s PGA Tour gets set to start round three, Rory McIlroy is definitely the golfer that is going to be holding people’s attention as the tournament finishes. Everyone remembers his hot start to the season last year, where he was unable to cash in so many times before finally winning the Players Championship.

As with the previous events overseas, the tee times start at night for those of us in the States. Jbe’ Kruger, J.T. Poston, and Neil Schietekat tee off at 5:45 PM Pacific Time tonight, all of whom sit at -2.

Xander Schauffele will be looking to make a bit of history by winning back-to-back titles here. He will tee off at 7:35 PM Pacific with Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick in the leader’s group.