Hideki Matsuyama and Denny McCarthy have put on a putting masterclass to take the halfway lead in the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Matsuyama recovered from a shaky start – he missed a four-foot birdie putt on No.2 and put his tee shot into the water on the par-3 fourth – with two long birdie putts and a 3-wood to about 12 feet on the par-5 16th for one of his easier birdies. He had a 6-under 64.
McCarthy, with a reputation for a smooth putting stroke, put that to good use on the smooth greens of TPC Southwind. He holed three birdie putts from about 25 feet or longer to offset a pair of bogeys in his round of 63.
They were at 11-under 129 – one shot ahead of another great putter Sam Burns, who shot 29 on the front nine before cooling slightly. He had a 63.
Scottie Scheffler got on track late with three straight birdies for a 65 and was two back.
The first PGA Tour post-season event is the most consequential. The points are quadrupled, and the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup advance to the BMW Championship next week and are assured of playing in all the $US20 million ($A30m) signature events next year.
No.3 seed Rory McIlroy turned in a lacklustre performance and played the two par 5s in three over and shot 73, leaving him in a tie for 58th.
This is a big week for McCarthy, who has never won on the PGA Tour and is at No.45. A victory would move him into the top five in the standings and secure a spot in the Tour Championship for the top 30.
Ditto for Justin Rose, who is outside the magic number at No.55. He had another 66 and was tied for fifth with Nick Dunlap (65)
Amazingly, McCarthy is doing this with what he described as a torn labrum without getting into too many details.
“I don’t want to divulge too much. It’s bothering me, and I’ve been able to do enough the last few days to push through it,” he said. “The heat helps it. Yeah, looking forward to a challenge on the weekend.”
Matsuyama summed up his round: “I missed a short putt there at 2, knocked it in the water at 4, but from that point on, I really played well and putted well.”
Matsuyama was in good spirits about his game. He is coping with having a bag stolen last week in London while at a restaurant that included his wallet and the passports of his caddie and coach. They are in Japan trying to get new passports. He’s tied for the lead in Memphis.
Players will go off both sides in groups of three Saturday to cope with thunderstorms expected in the morning.
Adam Scott (68) and Min Woo Lee (68) are the top Australians at two under for the tournament. They are one ahead of Jason Day (67).
With only the top 50 advancing next week, Day is currently 30th in the standings, Scott (50th), Cam Davis (53rd) and Lee (62nd).