Tournaments

3 things you missed from Round 2 at the CJ Cup

The second round of the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in South Korea is complete, and the leaderboard saw some changes to it as a few familiar faces made their way up the board. Here’s what you need to know from round two.

1.  Here comes Mr. Koepka

After shooting a 7-under 65 in the second round, PGA Tour Player of the Year Brooks Koepka finds himself just one shot off the lead at the CJ Cup after 36 holes. The three-time major champion, who shot a 1-under 71 in the opening round, now sits at 8-under 136 heading into Saturday’s third round. The 28-year-old Koepka’s second round was highlighted by an eagle on his final hole of the day.

And there’s a lot at stake for Koepka. If Koepka can the win the tournament and defending champion Justin Thomas does not finish better than second, he will claim the No. 1 world ranking following the event. Thomas is tied for 22nd after posting a 2-under 70 in the second round.

“I feel like my game is in a good spot,” Koepka said. “I feel like the way I played today, if I can carry that momentum into Saturday and Sunday, it will be fun.”

2. Scott Piercy is setting the pace

While Koepka’s charge up the leaderboard is sure to be the focus of many golf fans heading into the third round, Scott Piercy is the man leading the way at the CJ Cup after two rounds at 9-under 135. Like Koepka, Piercy shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take control of the leaderboard. Piercy found 13 of 14 fairways off the tee and reached 16 greens during his bogey-free second round.

Piercy, who shot a 2-under 70 during the first round, now finds himself in position to capture his first PGA Tour win since the Barbasol Championship in 2015.

“It was a good day,” Piercy said. “Hit a couple close and then my putter showed up and made some putts of some pretty good length.”

3. As the wind settles down, the scores go up

Thursday’s first round was not pretty, as only 19 players broke par due to strong winds. But the wind died down on Friday, which as a result, saw golfers score better in the second round. The scoring average during Thursday’s first round was 73.26, but after the winds slowed down, 44 players had under-par rounds. That’s certainly the conditions golfers want to see going into the weekend.

“Obviously, the wind was down a little bit and from a little bit different direction, so 10 miles an hour wind versus 20s is quite a big difference,” Piercy said.

As a result, the best round of the day came from Brian Harman, who shot an 8-under 64 to move into a five-way tie for sixth and only five shots off the lead at 4-under.

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