ATLANTA – Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns are best buddies. They are road roommates, practice-round partners and enjoy bible study together on the PGA Tour. On Saturday, Burns predicted Scheffler would go hole hunting with his second shot from a fairway bunker at No. 13 at East Lake Golf Club. When Scheffler hit a rare poor shot, a one-handed finish that found a plugged lie in the sand, Burns, speaking with Kevin Kisner and Smiley Kaufman on NBC cracked, “This guy is terrible.”
So terrible that he made just his second bogey of the week and posted a 5-under 66 to improve to 21 under after two rounds at the Tour Championship.
But after he finished his round, Burns was more realistic. “I need to make a lot of birdies. He’s the best golfer on the planet. He’s really good with leads. It’s not a great thing for us,” he said.
Asked if he thought there was a chance Scheffler might back up over the weekend, Burns didn’t hesitate.
“I am not expecting him to come back in the slightest,” he said. “Somebody is going to have to go chase him down. I think if you drive the ball well around here, get yourself in position enough and you have a good day with the irons and make some putts, I think a low score is to be had.”
During Friday’s second round, which included a late-afternoon weather delay of one hour and 33 minutes, Collin Morikawa did just that, posting 63 to cut Scheffler’s lead from seven after the first round down to four and Xander Schauffele is lurking five back.
Cancel the coronation for Sunday? Not yet. But after 36 holes, we’re saying there’s a chance it won’t be a blow out.
Here are five things to know after the second round of the 30-man Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup finale, where $100 million in bonus money will be doled out and the winner will bank a cool $25 million.
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Scheffler still in control
Scottie Scheffler shot 66 on Friday but failed to extend his lead. After shooting 65, the low round of the day on Thursday, he led by a touchdown and the extra point was good. But Scheffler knows that the chasers are too good and someone would make a charge to keep things interesting.
“Probably will definitely not have any more seven-shot leads after — it was seven, wasn’t it? I’m sure you guys made a really huge deal of that,” he said.
When told that the record seven-shot lead after the first round came with a big asterisk, he said, “I hope you did. Yeah, large asterisk.”
Scheffler avoided opening with a bogey for the second straight day when he drained a 20-foot par putt. He tacked on birdies at Nos. 3, 6 and 8 and wedged close for another birdie at No. 10, which got him to 20 under for the first time.
“I got off to a better start than yesterday, so it was good,” Scheffler said. “Yeah, played another what I felt like was a pretty solid round of golf.”
The lone bogey of the day happened at No. 13, but after the weather delay he made birdie at two of the final three holes. Scheffler is playing his brand of golf and if he keeps avoiding the long Bermuda rough, sticking his wedges inside 10 feet and rolling his rock – these were his two best back-to-back rounds putting at East Lake in his five years playing here – he’s going to be tough to beat.
Morikawa makes his move
Collin Morikawa started the tournament six strokes back of Scottie Scheffler. He made six birdies in a row on the back nine on Thursday and still fell another stroke behind Scheffler. On Friday, he struck back and birdied half the holes at East Lake to post 8-under 63 and trim his deficit to four. Morikawa’s in striking distance heading into the weekend but he knows Scheffler’s not going to make it easy for him to be caught.
“He’s such a good player that you just know he’s going to keep going low and making birdies,” Morikawa said. “I saw that firsthand. I’ve seen it for years. For me, it’s just keep my foot on the gas and keep sticking to my game plan.”
Morikawa made three of his four front-nine birdies in a row beginning at No. 6. He made his lone bogey of the day at No. 11 but then chipped in for birdie at 13.
“The chip-in was nice, especially having a little two-shot swing there with Scottie,” he said.
Morikawa added a birdie at the par-5 14th and then closed with a pair of birdies after play resumed.
“Stuck to my game plan,” he said. “Honestly, just kept hitting my shots and made a bunch of putts today, which was nice.”
Schauffele finds his mojo
Better.
That’s how Xander Schauffele described his play on Friday.
Indeed, it was. A day after shooting 1-over 37 on the back nine and opening round 70 to fall seven strokes back of Scheffler, Schauffele bounced back with a 7-under 64 on Friday.
One day earlier, Schauffele ranked 29th in the 30-man field in proximity. Blame poor driving, especially a case of the lefts as a result of swinging a little inside on his takeaway, for putting him in some sticky situations. On Friday, he ranked seventh in proximity. He also improved from 22nd in Strokes Gained: Putting (-1.146) to third (2.742).
“It was nice to see some balls go in,” Schauffele said.
“This course right now with how firm the greens are, it’s a ball-striking type deal where you have to be in the fairways and hit your number, and (Scottie’s) been killing everyone at that all year. I know he’s not going to let up, so there’s only one way to get him,” Schauffele said.
His plan? Just keep his head down the next two days.
“It’s really up to him, to be honest,” Schauffele said. “I have to play out of my ‘beep’ to sniff.”
Presidents Cup update
U.S. Captain Jim Furyk and International Team Captain Mike Weir are watching closely to see how their potential picks for the upcoming Presidents Cup are faring.
Sam Burns, who finished seventh in the point standings, shot 68 to climb to seventh place. Tony Finau, who was eighth in the standings, posted 66 to make a good impression. Russell Henley, who was ninth, shot even-par 71 while Keegan Bradley didn’t have his good stuff, shooting 3-over 74. Justin Thomas, who was way down the standings at No. 19, has looked better with rounds of 66-69.
On the International Team side, South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout, who ranked 10th in the points race, shot 2-under 69, but he sits in 28th place. Canadian Taylor Pendrith, who finished 11th in points, has been sharper with scores of 66-69.
The two captains will make their six picks on Tuesday, Sept. 4.
Scheffler stats to know
Scheffler set the lowest 36-hole total since the Starting Strokes format started in 2019. The previous largest 36-hole lead was two, which was the margin in 2022 when Scheffler was in front too. If Scheffler were to win, he’d be the first player to win seven or more times in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2007.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Scottie Scheffler’s lead trimmed to four as Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele give chase at 2024 Tour Championship
