ATLANTA — Ryan Gerard and Viktor Hovland share the halfway lead at the Tour Championship, but Scottie Scheffler is still near the top of the leaderboard.
What did you expect?
Scheffler is 8 under par and two strokes off the lead after the second round Friday at East Lake Golf Club. He remains tied for fifth. With 36 holes to play, the world’s No. 1 golfer and FedEx Cup points leader is still in position to claim his second Tour Championship title in three years.
Gerard, making his Tour Championship debut, and Norway’s Hovland lead at 10-under 130 after shooting rounds of 65 and 66, respectively. Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup each posted 67 and are tied for third at 9-under 129.
Gerard’s round of 5-under 65 included a 79-foot putt on No. 7.
“I’ve played a lot of golf tournaments in my life,” Gerard said, noting he had several near-wins this year. “I’ve won a few golf tournaments in my life. I feel comfortable that I’m doing the right things, we’re executing the right shots, we have the right mentality to go out and kind of close it and kind of be the dog under pressure. Just go out there and enjoy it.
“That’s kind of what we play for is to have a chance on the back nine coming down the stretch on Sunday, and that’s kind of what we prepare for, and we’ll be ready.”
Gerard rebounded after an opening-hole bogey with six birdies, including one at No. 18.
Joining Scheffler at 8 under is Cameron Young. Scheffler is one stroke closer to the leaders than where he started the day, but still in fifth, his position after the first round.
Scheffler posted his 3-under 67 despite back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 and a costly one at No. 17. They were the first blemishes on his card for the tournament. He also had six birdies, including four in a five-hole stretch from Nos. 6-10.
Scheffler has been the model of consistency on the PGA Tour, so this has come to be expected. He won only twice, including in the playoff opener, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, but has 12 top-five finishes on tour this year.
“I think over the course of my career, I feel like one thing I’m most proud of is my consistency week in and week out,” Scheffler said before the tournament. “I think that’s something that I take a lot of pride in. It’s not easy to show up every single week and play the way that I play and play the intensity that I play and that I bring to each and every tournament. That’s something I’m really very proud of.”
Scheffler went to the driving range following his round.
There must be something about playing by yourself. The field was an uneven 29 after J.J. Spaun withdrew following a partial round on Thursday. Min Woo Lee of Australia was paired with Spaun in the first round and went 6 under, of his 8-under total, over the final 13 holes.
Young went out first and by himself for the second round Friday and shot an 8-under 62. He was tied for the lead at 8 under by the time he finished his round with an eagle on No. 18. He stayed there or just off the lead all day.
“Playing by yourself, it’s strange for a second,” Young said. “Kind of when you see the pairing, it’s strange, and then once you get into it you don’t have to wait, you don’t have to rush. You can kind of just do everything you’d like to do the whole day. So, it’s easy in that sense.”
Other players of note include defending champion Tommy Fleetwood of England (70) at 4 under and Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland (69) at 3 under. Lee, the first-round leader, shot a 3-over 73 and fell to 5 under. His round included a triple bogey on the par-4 fifth hole.
