Scottie Scheffler is just about back to regular after his hand, foot and mouth challenge, and it’s displaying.
Scheffler, after his fast bout with the sickness last week in St. Louis, is now in the excellent place to make a run at the FedExCup and the $10 million prize that comes with it. The top-ranked golfer in the world fired a 3-under 67 on Friday at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, which has him at 8-under for the week.
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That still, though, wasn’t enough to push him into the lead at the midpoint of the ultimate occasion of the season. Instead, it was Ryan Gerard who had a near-perfect day and managed a two-shot lead when he hit the clubhouse thanks to a late birdie at the 18th. Gerard, who has just a single PGA Tour win to his title, carded a second straight 65 to get to 10-under and at one level sank a 78-footer. Viktor Hovland joined him after saving birdie at the 18th, too.
Scheffler, who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship by an unimaginable eight pictures to kick off the FedExCup Playoffs, posted a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to open the week. And after struggling through the second leg of the playoffs — he admitted on Sunday that a smarter model of himself would have withdrawn from the BMW Championship — Scheffler felt so much higher.
“Hands are all good, totally back to normal,” Scheffler said on Thursday. “I have a couple ulcers still in my throat, but I feel way better than last week. I’m talking and eating and drinking normally.”
Scheffler entered the second spherical 4 pictures back from Min Woo Lee, who took a two-shot benefit over the discipline on Thursday evening.
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Friday did not begin out great for Scheffler, but he rapidly made up for it. After making back-to-back bogeys in his first 4 holes, Scheffler flew into the back 9 while making 5 birdies in a seven-hole span proper around the flip.
And if it weren’t for a missed inexperienced at the seventeenth, where he settled for his lone bogey on the back 9, Scheffeler would have hit the clubhouse with a share of the lead. He had a 50-footer for eagle at the last, but ended up leaving it about three ft off for an straightforward birdie instead.
Hovland posted a 66 on Friday to be a part of Gerard at 10-under. Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup each got to 9-under to share third. which dropped Scheffler into a tie for fifth with Young.
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Young jumped method up the leaderboard on Friday after he opened the week with an even-par 70. He made seven birdies and an eagle while posting his 8-under 62 in the second spherical, which has him back in the combine. He eagled the 18th, too, and flew through his spherical after taking part in alone as the first one out.
“You don’t do anything that isn’t at your own pace,” Young said of taking part in alone. “You’re never waiting. You’re never rushing. In that sense, it’s pretty nice.”
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, has just about performed himself out of it. He spent most of Friday making an attempt to recuperate from an early double bogey-bogey combo, which began after he did perhaps the most relatable factor around the third inexperienced.
Not great.
There is still a long method to go before the FedExCup is handed out. And Scheffler is not even in the lead just yet. But with the method he’s been taking part in in current weeks, and with his sickness now basically behind him, it’s going to take a lot for the relaxation of the discipline to efficiently fend him off over the next two days.
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That is now Gerard’s activity over the next 36 holes.
“Absolutely, love playing with the lead,” he said. “Way better than playing in last.”
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