Burns keeps rolling with 2-shot lead at Nelson
MCKINNEY, Texas: Now that Sam Burns has figured out how to turn an early lead into a victory, it’s already time to try again.
Burns birdied six of his last eight holes on Friday (Saturday in Manila) for a 10-under 62 and a two-stroke lead over Alex Noren at 17 under after the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson.
Noren shot 64 to get to 15 under, and KH Lee had his second 65 to reach 14 under. Doc Redman bogeyed two of his last three holes for a 67 that left him 13 under.
JJ Spaun was 12 under, following a first-round 63 that left him tied with Jordan Spieth with a 69. Spieth shot 70, leaving the local favorite in the group at 11 under that included Matt Kuchar and Charl Schwartzel.
Scoring went up overall along with the wind a day after the new home of the Nelson, the par-72 TPC Craig Ranch north of Dallas, surrendered 94 rounds in the 60s in its debut. In the second round, there were 93 scores of
70 or higher.
The tougher conditions didn’t affect Burns, playing for the first time since his first Professional Golfers’ Association (PGA) Tour win two weeks ago at the Valspar Championship in Florida.
Before Burns won at Innisbrook, the 24-year-old Louisiana native had twice failed to convert 54-hole leads in the Houston Open last fall and the Genesis Invitational at Riviera in February.
Now he has a tour-best five 36-hole leads this season after following a 65 with the lowest round of his career. Burns is trying to become the first to get his first two PGA Tour victories in consecutive starts since Camilo Villegas in 2008.
“The biggest thing for me is just seeing the hard work that we put in it; start seeing results from that,” Burns said. “A lot of times you don’t know how long the results are going to take. It’s cool to see some feedback from the progress we’ve made back home and seeing it in tournament play as well.”
Already with a four-hole run of birdies on the back nine, Burns put his tee shot in the stadium setting of the par-3 17th inside 4 feet; then, hit a short approach on the par-5 18th to 2 feet for birdie.
Another birdie came on the par-4 14th when Burns laid up on the 318-yard hole while bulked-up playing partner Bryson DeChambeau drove the green and two-putted for birdie for the second day in a row. Burns made a 17-footer.
DeChambeau, who played at nearby SMU and is one of three top-10 players in the field, had two late bogeys for a 68 to get to 7 under. Sung Kang, the 2019 winner and defending champion after last year’s cancellation, is 8 under after a 69.
Spieth didn’t make any putts beyond 12 feet a day after a 55-footer for eagle on the final hole pulled him even with Spaun.