GRILLO SHOOTS A 63 TO BUILD LEAD
AT MAYAKOBA
Emiliano Grillo made birdie on half of the holes Friday on his way to an 8-under 63 that gave him a three-shot lead going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico.
The second round was delayed by one hour by heavy rain in the morning, and it was not completed before it was too dark to continue. No one was close enough to catch Grillo, who was at 13-under 129. It will be only the fifth time in 136 starts on the PGA Tour that he has a share of the lead after any round.
Tony Finau one-putted six consecutive holes in the middle of his round, four of them par saves and none tap-ins, and posted a 66. He was at 9-under 133, along with Tom Hoge, who had a 67.
Justin Thomas, at No. 3 the highest-ranked player in the field, was zooming into contention with five birdies and an eagle through 12 holes.
His momentum stalled, however, particularly with bogeys on his last two holes. Thomas had to settle for a 67 and was nine shots behind.
But he’s still playing, which won’t be the case for Rickie Fowler. The cut would not be made until today, though Fowler looked certain to miss by one shot.
With no events left this year, Fowler is likely to fall out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2010. He still is not eligible for the Masters next April, though he would have three months at the start of next year to either win or get into the top 50 by the end of March.
Elsewhere
Jessica Korda was prepared for another bone-chilling round at Old American Golf Club in The Colony, Texas. Maybe, a bit too prepared. “My immediate regret when I was on the front nine my kneecaps started to sweat and I didn’t have pants I could take off,” Korda said. At the end of the day, the 27year-old Floridian had a share of the lead at 4-under par 138 in the Volunteers of America Classic with Anna Nordqvist and 19year-old Yealimi Noh.
• Andy Sullivan shot a 4-under 68 and will take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the Golf in Dubai Championship. The Englishman made five birdies to go 21 under overall after three rounds at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.
• Jamie Donaldson took a share of the lead after two rounds at the South African Open with a 9-under 63, one shot off the course record in Sun City. Donaldson joined Christiaan Bezuidenhout (67) at the top of the leaderboard at 10 under overall.