Thomas holds 36-hole lead at CJ Cup tourney

Justin Thomas grabbed the 36hole lead at the CJ Cup with a second-round 63 on Friday at Nine Bridges to lead the event by two shots.

Thomas moved to 13-under-par for the tournament with his second career 63 at the course, one off the course and event record, with Byeong Hun An and Danny Lee at 11-under at Jeju Island, South Korea.

“Very stress-free day,” Thomas said. “... I just kind of kept the ball in play off the tee. Hit some good irons. So it was a very easy 63, if you can somehow say that.”

Jordan Spieth is 9-under and four back in his debut in the tournament after a 65 in the second round. Emiliano Grillo is also four back of Thomas.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., the lone Canadian entry, sits in a tie for 33rd at 2-under after a 72.

“I rolled in a lot of putts today, and certainly don’t want to have to rely on that over the weekend,” Spieth said.

“Certainly the ball-striking improved as well and I’m in position to try and do something similar to these first two rounds on the weekend.”

Defending champ and world No. 1 Brooks Koepka recorded a 75 and is in T51 and even par. Koepka is chasing the field and his younger brother, Chase, who shot 70-72 in the first two rounds.

No second-round leader has gone on to win the tournament. This is the 10th time Thomas has led an event after the second round, and he won five of his previous nine such occasions.

Thomas has 15 birdies through two rounds, noteworthy since he vowed to donate $1,000 per birdie to raise money toward rebuilding in the Bahamas.