The 2020 BMW Championship is already at the halfway point, and after two rounds, Olympia Fields is playing more like a major than the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs, with only two players in the field under par. Here are three things you should know after Friday’s second round.
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay share the lead
After an outrageously good stretch of golf that spanned from early 2019 into the PGA Tour’s Covid suspension in March, Rory McIlroy has found himself in a bit of a slump since the restart — relatively speaking, of course — only cracking the top 11 once in seven tournaments.
But rounds of 70-69 have him sharing the lead with Patrick Cantlay (71-68) after two rounds at Olympia Fields. A win this week would launch McIlroy all the way to No. 2 in the FedEx Cup standings heading into next week’s finale at the Tour Championship, where he’s the defending champion.
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So what’s been the difference-maker for McIlroy this week? A combination of off-the-tee and on-the-green confidence — with an assist from an old flatsick friend.
“I’ve driven the ball much better over the last couple of days, so that’s been a huge key to my game,” McIlroy said after his round. “If I can drive the ball well, everything seems a bit easier from there. And I felt a bit better with the putter. I put my old putter back in the bag. I felt a little more comfortable over the sort of inside-10-feet range, so that felt better. But overall everything was pretty good.”
Who’s in contention?
Eight players are within two shots of Cantlay and McIlroy’s lead, and 12 more are within four shots, including last week’s winner, Dustin Johnson, who trails by just one shot at even par.
Adam Scott and Tony Finau are two back at 1-over overall, and Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau are four shots back at 3-over.
How did Tiger play?
Through 15 holes on Thursday, Tiger Woods was right in contention at even par, but limped to the finish, carding three bogeys in a row to sign for a round of 73 — 3-over.
Unfortunately, things did not improve on Friday. A bogey and a double on the front side put Woods at 3-over on the day and 6-over overall with nine holes left to play on the back. Birdies on the par-4 11th and 17th holes were the round’s lone bright spots, as bogeys followed on holes 12, 14, 15 and 16.
The final tally? A second round of 75 — 5-over, which caused Woods to plummet 20 spots down the leaderboard into T55 at 8-over overall. He’s now nine shots shy of Cantlay and McIlroy’s lead with two rounds left to play, and will need to rally mightily this weekend if he wants to qualify for next week’s Tour Championship.