SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda (AP) — Justin Lower had another 6-under 65 on Friday without taking advantage of the par 5s, giving him a two-shot lead heading into the weekend at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
The island paradise was more like a milling wind and squalls of rain in Port Royal. For the second day in a row the round didn't end until nightfall.
Lower, who finished second in Mexico last week, opened with three birdies in five holes and took control with three straight birdies starting on No. 12 with a 6-foot putt. He rolled a 20-footer from the green on the 13th hole and made a sharp 15-footer on the next hole. The streak ended when his bunker shot grazed the cup on the 15th.
He's just finished, he could have scored shots on the par 5s. He was within range on the 17th, but missed the green on the right. His pitch rolled to 12 feet and he missed the birdie putt.
“Not being able to get to the par 5s, when they're all kind of reachable except No. 2 because they're just in the wind, that part kind of sucks,” Lower said. “It would have been nice to get one of those last two putts on 17, 18, but it was still a great round and I'm happy where I'm at.”
He was at 12-under 130, two shots ahead of Robby Shelton (64) and Ryan Moore (65).
After last week, Lower has already blocked his card for the next year. A win would send him to the Masters and the first two $20 million signature events in 2025.
Shelton and Moore are outside the top 150 in the FedEx Cup. The PGA Tour season ends next week and the Top 125 retains its full status for next year.
“It wasn’t very good,” Shelton said of his year, which he attributed to the swing coach change. “But now I feel like I'm super calm this week and in the last two events I'll just do my best.”
Moore came close to losing his card last year until he finished fifth at the Bermuda Championship and eighth at the season-ending RSM Classic. He's in the same predicament this year.
“I have to break the habit of remembering how to play golf in the penultimate week of the year. That’s not a good habit to be out here,” Moore said. “But I hope that it continues like this at the weekend and that my game continues to be as trendy as before.”
The cut will not be made until Saturday morning after the conclusion of the second round, but Egor Eroshenko was assured he would play at the weekend, making him the first Russian to make the cut on the PGA Tour.
The biggest surprise may have been Kevin Kisner, who had a 68 and was three shots behind along with Sam Ryder (62). Kisner's performance has declined this year as he tries to rediscover his swing and has spent a lot of time in the NBC broadcast booth.
“It's been a long period of poor golf, so it's good to see some things working out,” Kisner said. “It’s an amazing formula – your average putts go in, your average shots work, your good putts go in, your good shots really work. It was a fun few days seeing some good stuff.”
Ryder had 10 birdies and a clean card until he bogeyed his final hole in the low round of the day. Now he joins everyone preparing for what is expected to be a rough Saturday with more wind and rain in Port Royal.
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