Fowler, Putnam share lead in Japan
Rickie Fowler and Andrew Putnam were tied with a one-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the Zozo Championship, where scores were low with drier conditions after rain in the first round.
It was a tougher day for former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, who is also the defending champion and the hometown favorite. He was 10 strokes off the pace after a 69. He opened with a 71 on Thursday.
Putnam had an 8-under 62 and Fowler was in at 63, putting both Americans at 10-under after two rounds at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club on the outskirts of Tokyo.
The low round with a 61 — and a course record — went to John Huh. The American was two strokes off the pace.
One stroke behind the leaders was Keegan Bradley with a 65.
Huh was asked if he had a round of 59 on his mind.
“Not really,” he said. “I knew if I made a couple more birdies it would have been nice, but I really never thought about a 59 in my head.”
The Zozo Championship is the only PGA Tour event in Japan with a purse of $11 million.
LIV Golf
Brooks Koepka took a two-shot lead at the LIV Golf Invitational-Jeddah after an 8-under 62 in the first round, matching the lowest score on the breakaway tour.
The American made eight birdies during an error-free round at the Royal Greens Golf & Country Club in King Abdullah Economic City, Saudi Arabia.
The former top-ranked player is trailed by Charl Schwartzel at 6 under. Hideto Tanihara, Peter Uihlein and Patrick Reed are a further stroke back.
This is the seventh and final LIV Golf Invitational event for both individual and team play. The final event of the inaugural season will be in Miami on Oct. 28-30 for the four-man teams.
LIV Golf is funded by the Saudi Arabia sovereign wealth fund, but this is the first tournament held in Saudi Arabia after previous events in London, Portland, Bedminster, Boston, Chicago and Bangkok.
Dustin Johnson has already clinched the LIV individual champion title and its prize of $18 million. The second and third spots — and their respective prizes of $8 million and $4 million — are still up for grabs.
PGA Tour Champions
Rocco Mediate fired a 7-under 65 despite two bogeys to take the firstround lead at the PGA Tour Champions SAS Championship at Prestonwood Country Club in Cary, N.C.
Mediate, 59, leads Y.E. Yang by one shot. The Pennsylvania native overcame the bogeys with seven birdies and an eagle on the par-5 17th.
Mediate has four wins on PGA Tour Champions but only one since 2016. His best finish this season is is a tie for eighth at the Hoag Classic.
“I definitely would like to have another trophy sometime soon, that would be cool,” Mediate said. “It’s so hard at any level.
“Getting off to a good start, huge. We’ll see what we do with it the next two days, but it was great, it was great. Hitting my ball where I’m looking and, like I said, making putts. I made a bunch of good putts today and that’s what it’s all about.”
DP World Tour
Ángel Hidalgo shot an 8-under 63 to grab part of a three-way lead of the European tour’s Andalucía Masters after two rounds in Sotogrande, Spain.
The Spaniard sunk eight birdies on an error-free day at Valderrama to join overnight leader Min Woo Lee (67) and Adrian Otaegui on 9 under par.