After 36 holes, Landry looks up to Challenge
Andrew Landry topped the crowded CareerBuilder Challenge leaderboard by a stroke after another low-scoring day.
Landry shot a 7-under 65 on Friday on PGA West’s Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course to reach 16 under. He opened with a 63 on Thursday at La Quinta Country Club.
“Wind was down again,” Landry said. “It’s like a dome out here.”
Landry, after winning his second Web. com Tour title last year, had two top-10 finishes in October and November at the start the PGA Tour season.
“We’re in a good spot right now,” Landry said. “I played two good rounds of golf, bogey-free both times.”
Jon Rahm, the first-round leader after a 62 at La Quinta, was a stroke back. He had two early bogeys in a 67 on the Nicklaus layout.
“It’s tough to come back because I feel like I expected myself to go to the range and keep just flushing everything like I did yesterday,” Rahm said. “Everything was just a little bit off.”
Jason Kokrak was 14 under after a 67 at Nicklaus. Two-time major champ Zach Johnson (64) was 13 under, along with Michael Kim and Martin Piller.
PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS >> Colin Montgomerie shot a second straight 7-under 65 to take a two-shot lead into the final round of the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, the tour’s season opener. A six-time winner on the over-50 tour, Montgomerie made five birdies on the back nine to reach 14 under through 36 holes at Hualalai. Firstround co-leaders Gene Sauers and Jerry Kelly each shot 68 and were 12 under.
EUROPEAN TOUR >> Thomas Pieters holed a bunker shot for a closing birdie and shot a second-round 65 to take a one-stroke lead at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as top-ranked Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy moved into contention. Johnson shook off the jet lag after his ragged opening-round 72 to shoot a bogey-free 8-under 64, tied for the low round of the tournament, and was four shots back. McIlroy, playing his first event since October, finished with an eagle on the par-5 18th and was three shots behind Pieters after a 66.
ASIAN TOUR >> Chapchai Nirat birdied his first four holes and then his last two in a 7-under 64 to grab the clubhouse lead in the second round of the weather-interrupted Singapore Open. The Thai golfer was at 7-under 135 before lightning suspended play for the second day in a row, this time with half the 156-player field still on the course. Sergio Garcia was at 8 under with 10 holes to play.
KOEPKA ON MEND >> U.S. Open champ Brooks Koepka has a left wrist injury that will keep him out until the Masters. Doctors discovered a partial tear in a tendon. The recovery is expected to be eight to 12 weeks of rest and therapy. Koepka said he doesn’t know what caused the injury.