Tour Championship – round two
-10 R Gerard (US), V Hovland (Nor); -9 C Morikawa (US), C Gotterup (US); -8 S Scheffler (US), C Young (US)
Selected others: -7 M Fitzpatrick (Eng), J Rose (Eng), A Scott (Aus), L Aberg (Swe); R -6 Fox (NZ); -4 T Fleetwood (Eng), A Fitzpatrick (Eng), W Clark (US); -3 R McIlroy (NI); +3 R MacIntyre (Sco)
Norway’s Viktor Hovland and American Ryan Gerard are tied for the lead at 10 under, heading into the weekend at the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Hovland, who was crowned the Fedex Cup champion in 2023, made a birdie on the final hole to card a four-under 66, after Gerard had set the clubhouse pace with a five-under 65.
While Hovland’s putting again came to the fore, Gerard was not to be outdone and memorably rolled in a stunning 78-foot birdie putt that travelled the length of the seventh green.
Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup are joint-second on nine under, while world number one Scottie Scheffler shrugged off two early bogeys to fire a 67, leaving him just two shots back in the PGA Tour’s season-ending event.
Cameron Young, who won the Players Championship in March, is also at eight under after a scintillating round of 62 that contained seven birdies and an eagle on the par-five 18th.
England’s Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick are also firmly in contention to take home the $10m (£7.4m) prize on Sunday evening and are three strokes adrift at seven under overall.
Rose looked in superb form as he delivered a bogey-free 65, however, it was another day of mixed fortunes for Rory McIlroy who opened with a birdie but found himself two-over par after four holes.
The Northern Irishman’s frustration was evident on the third hole, when he missed the green with his approach and then twice failed to chip his ball on to the putting surface from the same spot on his way to a double bogey.
And while he made two birdies in the final three holes, the Masters champion will need to make significant headway on Saturday, from his current position – tied for 23rd on three under.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre also had a forgettable day, particularly after the turn.
The 30-year-old followed three consecutive bogeys with a double bogey on the par-three 15th hole after finding the water off the tee.
He eventually signed for a six-over 76 and alongside Min Woo Lee and Xander Schauffele, was one of only three players to conclude his second round over par.
However, his route to a bogey on the 18th was far from as unusual as the one taken by Jacob Bridgeman, whose stray tee shot landed inside a stall selling pizza.