Schauffele goes on birdie run to take lead

North Las Vegas, Nev. — Xander Schauffele began his second round by missing a 4-foot birdie putt. That was hardly a sign of what was to follow Friday in the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek.

Schauffele made putts as short as 3 feet and as long as 35 feet. He chipped in from 20 feet. He seemingly couldn't miss during a two-hour stretch when he made seven birdies over eight holes, including six in a row, for a career-best 29 on the back nine.

His momentum slowed with the pace of play, and he settled an 8-under 64 for a three-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton.

“Some of those holes, you're not really trying to birdie them, you're just trying to leave yourself an uphill 35- footer. And fortunately, I made a couple of them,” Schauffele said. "It was a nice stretch. Got a little bit stale there on the other side. Pace of play slowed down a lot, kind of hot, easy to let the mind wander.

“Upset I didn't make more birdies, but pleased I didn't make any bogeys.”

He was at 14-under 130 and now has the course record at Shadow Creek, which is hosting the CJ Cup for this year only because the COVID-19 pandemic made travel to South Korea impractical.

Hatton, among six players who were in England last week for the European Tour's flagship event, was headed for a rocky finish when he laid up into the rough on the par-5 16th that led to a second straight bogey. He rallied to close with a pair of birdies for a 68.

Russell Henley ( 68) was another shot back at 10- under 134. Defending champion Justin Thomas found some momentum with six birdies, despite missing two easy chances on par 5s, for a 66 and was eight shots behind at the halfway point.

“I guess I played my way somewhat back into it,” he said before turning to look at the scores on a nearby monitor. “But Xander kind of went off today, so that makes it a little harder.”

Thomas kept glancing at video boards trying to figure out what Schauffele was doing, besides making a lot of birdies.

“This is a place you can do it,” Thomas said. “You can go crazy low out here. You've got a lot of bowl pins, a lot of pins you can get close to. If you don't have control of your ball, as firm as the greens are, you can make a lot of bogeys, too.”

It wasn't just Schauffele making birdies. He played alongside PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who shot a 65, and Viktor Hovland, who had a 66.