Xander Schauffele recorded six straight birdies to shoot 29 on the front side on Friday at the CJ Cup. He holds a four-shot lead with 36 holes left.
Xander Schauffele quietly shot 66 in the first round of the CJ Cup on Thursday and sat one shot behind 18-hole leader Tyrrell Hatton after one day. But on day two, Schauffele caught fire early and by the time the day was over, he held a significant lead with 36 holes to play.
Playing the back nine first, Schauffele’s round didn’t start exceptionally well. He parred the 10th hole, then birdied the short par-4 11th hole to get under par on the day.
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Schauffele would par the 12th hole before his round got going. And when it did, it got going in a big way.
The hot streak started on the par-3 13th hole, where Schauffele stuck his tee shot about three feet from the cup. He would make the birdie to get to 2-under on his round.
Then on the par-4 14th hole, Schauffele hit his approach shot to about 25 feet and ran in the putt for birdie. He was 3-under at that point.
On the 15th, he was at it again, knocking in a birdie from 37 feet to get to 4-under. Then on the par-5 16th hole, he was on the fringe in two and got up and down for his fourth birdie in a row and fifth of the day.
Schauffele decided to try something different on the par-3 17th hole. He missed the green in regulation, but it did not matter, as he chipped in from the rough.
On the par-5 18th hole, Schauffele hit his tee shot into a fairway bunker, pitched out into the fairway then chipped onto the green. And, of course, he rolled in his 13-foot par for birdie. That was six birdies in a row, seven total, as Schauffele shot 29 on his first nine.
He did cool off at that point, recording pars on holes one through six, remaining 7-under par on his round. But he carded another birdie on the par-5 seventh hole before parring the final two holes to shoot an 8-under par 64.
After his Friday-best round, Schauffele will take a three-shot lead into the weekend as he looks for his fifth PGA Tour victory. If he plays like he did on Friday, there will be no catching him.