Blades Brown surges to the top alongside Scottie Scheffler at his 10th PGA Tour start. Schmid and Jäger hold steady near the cut as Straka fades.
The second round of the PGA Tour The American Express in La Quinta, California, was dominated by birdies. The 18-year-old Blades Brown posted a flawless, bogey-free 12-under round, moving up an incredible 50 places to share the lead at 17-under with Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend.
World number one Scheffler had a solid bogey-free 8-under day, while Brown outdid him with 10 birdies and an eagle, especially impressive with six birdies and an eagle on his first seven holes. This marks Brown’s tenth PGA Tour start following his Korn Ferry Tour debut earlier in the week.
\”I really like this course,\” Brown said, adding, \”I love playing with no wind.\” He expressed great happiness after the round, noting it was his sixth consecutive round after starting on the Korn Ferry Tour earlier this week. With his 60, Brown set a new tournament record and narrowly missed becoming the 15th player ever to shoot under 60 in a PGA Tour round.
His competitor at the top has already done that. Scheffler started strong with birdies on five of his first six holes. Following a bogey-free 9-under on day one, the world number one added a bogey-free 8-under on day two, reinforcing his favorite status.
After a day filled with many birdies and low scores, the top 20 players stand at 12-under or better.
Schmid and Jäger solid with the cut in sight
From the German-speaking perspective, Matti Schmid fought back after a difficult start with a double bogey and finished his first nine holes with birdies on 12, 14, and 18 for a 1-under. He remained error-free on the back nine and added two more birdies, finishing the day at 3-under to total 8-under and tied 62nd.
Stephan Jäger also had a strong second round, shooting 6-under with six birdies and no bogeys, moving to 7-under overall and tied 79th, just one stroke behind Schmid. Both have good chances to make the cut of the top 65 players and ties, which will be determined after the