Lingmerth shoots 65, keeps lead
POTOMAC, Md. — David Lingmerth knows he won’t have to shoot 20-under par for the week to win at tricky TPC Potomac. After two nearflawless rounds in the Quicken Loans National, he was halfway there.
The 29-year-old Swede, the winner of a Web.com Tour event on the punishing Washington-area layout in 2012, shot his second straight 5-under 65 on Friday to extend his lead to two shots over Geoff Ogilvy.
Lingmerth used his reliable fade off the tee to avoid trouble and set up birdie opportunities. He has gone 34 straight holes without a bogey.
His final fade of the day was possibly his best, a 6-iron from 177 yards that he held up against the wind on the par-4 18th. It finished 7 feet from the hole, leading to birdie.
Several players said before the tournament that 10 under might be good enough to win. Lingmerth’s winning score five years ago was 8 under.
“It’s definitely as tough as advertised,” he said. “It happens quite a bit actually that (the) two-round score ends up being pretty close to the final winning score. That’s not necessarily always the case. So I’m hoping to keep plugging away, making more birdies over the weekend.”
Lingmerth hit 12 of 14 fairways on Thursday and 10 of 14 on Friday, and he hit all but five greens in regulation each day. His short game was sharp, too. After his approach came up short on the uphill par-3 12th, he hit a bump-and-run into a steep slope that trickled onto the green and settled inside 2 feet.
The former University of Arkansas player won the 2015 Memorial for his lone PGA Tour title.
Ogilvy played in the first group off the 10th tee and also shot 65.