On the range of this two-player team event, the co-leaders flipped a coin to determine who would hit first. Or in other words, it didn’t really matter. Heads, one player was going to bomb it. Tails, one player was going to bomb it. As other teams may have been flipping out over the decision, the co-leaders are just flipping coins. Here are three things you need to know after Friday’s second round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
Tony Finau-Cameron Champ team is tied for first
On the 559-yard, par-5 18th, Cameron Champ hit first — and hit it 320 yards down the left side of the fairway. His teammate, Tony Finau, could only shake his head.
“Well, I said, maybe on Sunday I’ll hit on 18 so I can get it a little closer in,” Finau said, laughing.
Champ and Finau, two of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, have dubbed themselves Team Send It, and Champ and Finau were sending it. They shot a four-under 68 in the alternate shot format and share a two-stroke lead with the team of Viktor Hovland and Kris Ventura, who were tied for the first-round lead. (The event alternates between best ball and alternate shot, and Saturday’s third round will be the latter.)
“Just make it as relaxed and as fun and enjoyable as we can and that’s what we’ve done,” Finau said. “Obviously we knew today with the wind and just the format in general it was going to be a grind, and that’s what we did, especially coming down the last nine holes. We just kind of grinded it out.”
Hovland and Ventura double-bogeyed the 16th hole (their seventh after starting on the back nine), then played five under over their final 11 holes for a three-under 69.
“Yeah, I thought we did a really good job. Kris is driving it on a string and really far, as well, so that makes it easier for me with hitting some iron shots in there,” Hovland said. “I can be a bit more aggressive, and we managed to birdie a couple of really tough holes out there. It was a good day.”
Justin Rose-Henrik Stenson, Bubba Watson-Scottie Scheffler tied for second
Teamwork is knowing each others strengths.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 24, 2021
One of @BubbaWatson's is keeping Scottie loose on the course. 🙃 pic.twitter.com/MWnf3tzom0
Two shots back of the leaders are the teams of Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, and Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler. Rose and Stenson shot a 68, tied with Finau and Champ for the day’s low round, while Watson and Scheffler shot a 69.
The teams of Richy Werenski and Peter Uihlein, and Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel were three shots behind the leaders, and the teams of Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith, and Jason Kokrak and Pat Perez were four back.
Collin Morikawa-Matthew Wolff team misses the cut
Among the teams missing the cut were the pairing of Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff, who shot a five-over 77 on Friday; and Sungjae Im and Byeong Hun An, who shot a one-over 73.
