Justin Thomas had an up-and-down second round that saw him lose his lead, regain it, then lose it again on the final hole. Here’s how things stand midway through the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges, the first PGA Tour event in South Korea:
Leaderboard: Luke List (-9), Lucas Glover (-8), Scott Brown (-8), Justin Thomas (-7), Cameron Smith (-7)
What it means: Thomas, the reigning FedExCup champion and PGA Tour Player of the Year, took a three-shot lead in the first round, but started slowly over his second 18 holes, failing to make a birdie until the 10th hole. He added back-to-back circles at the 14th and 15th holes, and came to the par-5 18th looking to pick up at least another stroke. Instead, he had a misadventure in the sand, hitting one shot over the green and nearly into the water hazard, then knocking his next shot well past the cup. He settled for a bogey, a 74 and a one-shot deficit to Lucas Glover and two shots to Luke List.
Round of the day: Seung-Yul Noh shot a 7-under 65, balancing out his first-round 7-over 79. Noh spread five birdies throughout a bogey-free round that ended with an eagle at the 18th.
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Full-field scores from the The CJ Cup at Nine Bridges
Best of the rest: List, Glover and Branden Grace all shot 67. List made five birdies in a bogey-free round, including his last two holes. Glover, the 2009 U.S. Open champion, made seven birdies against two bogeys – both coming on par-3 holes. Grace made six birdies against one bogey and is four shots off the lead.
Biggest disappointment: Gavin Kyle Green was just three shots off the first-round lead after opening with a 66. But he followed that with a 10-over 82 that included five doubles and two bogeys. Tour Championship winner Xander Schauffele earns honorable mention here for following a 69 with an 82. He triple-bogeyed both of the front-nine par-5 holes.
Shot of the day: Cody Gribble didn’t have much of a day – he shot 81 – but he did make an eagle at the last after almost holing this shot for an albatross.
Golf shot. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/pXhAPA7krU
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 20, 2017
Storyline going into the weekend: There’s no cut, so technically everyone is alive heading into Moving Day. But most attention will be focused on Thomas and whether he can return to his first-round form.
Source: Internet
