While he could now not maintain the honour of being the highest participant on this planet, Jon Rahm appeared the half on Friday at the 2022 CJ Cup in South Carolina. After a middling efficiency on Thursday noticed him signal for a 2-under 69, the Spaniard put issues into hyperdrive in his second spherical, driving a scorching putter to a course report 9-under 62 and a share of the 36-hole lead with Kurt Kitayama.
Standing at 11 below for the event, it is baffling to recommend that Rahm might have gone even decrease in Round 2 — however he might have executed precisely that. Letting two birdie alternatives from inside 10 ft fall by the wayside and making bogey on his remaining gap of the day with a pitching wedge in hand from the center of the golf green, the previous world No. 1’s dinner could not style as candy as he had as soon as hoped.
Rahm retreated along with his dropped shot on 18, and never solely shares the highest spot on the leaderboard with Kitayama however is just one stroke away from Cam Davis and Aaron Wise. However, much more harmful than these two earlier PGA Tour winners is Rory McIlroy — the person who has achieved such a feat 22 instances in his profession and is just two off the lead after rounds of 66-67.
The leaders
T1. Jon Rahm and Kurt Kitayama (-11)
Not a ton of individuals learn about Kitayama, and this was on full show in his post-round interview. Members of the media requested how he earned his PGA Tour card this yr despite the fact that it’s his second season and he completed inside the highest 70 of the 2021-22 FedEx Cup, and it simply goes to indicate what he could also be up towards over the weekend.
To say he is only a random participant plucked from the depths of the PGA Tour could be a large slight, nonetheless. The Las Vegas resident traversed via the DP World Tour to start his profession, an unconventional route, and was rewarded with a pair of victories in 2019.Â
He hardly ever flinches when in rivalry, however the issue is the consistency wherein he is ready to place himself close to the highest of the leaderboard. Last yr, Kitayama notched three top-three finishes at the Scottish Open, Honda Classic and the Mexico Open the place he fell to Rahm by a single stroke.
Other contenders
T3. Cam Davis and Aaron Wise (-10)
5. Rory McIlroy (-9)
T6. Lee Hodges, Tyrrell Hatton, Ok.H. Lee, Billy Horschel, Tom Hoge, Brendon Todd, Shane Lowry and Tom Kim (-7)
What a weird two days for Wise, and I imply that in the very best manner. After having among the best single-round iron performances of the final decade on Thursday, the previous PGA Tour Rookie of the Year relied totally on his putter Friday. Gaining north of three strokes on the greens within the second spherical, it is going to be attention-grabbing to see if the 26-year-old will have the ability to marry the 2 over the ultimate 36 holes.
“Really, just green reading after the round yesterday. I felt like I misread a few putts so I just went out there with my caddie, did a few green-reading drills, put some coins out, make sure they were breaking the way I thought they were,” stated Wise. “Seemed like today I saw the lines a little better; it kind of matched up with what I was seeing and some putts dropped.”
Jon Rahm is a person possessed on the greens
Earlier within the week, I requested Rahm about his scorching streak on the greens over his final 4 tournaments, which he has continued at Congaree via the primary two days. The Spaniard merely replied, “I’m confident,” and he displayed this confidence within the second spherical. Gaining north of three.5 strokes on the placing surfaces — along with a putt made out of off the inexperienced on No. 16 — the flat stick stays the membership to look at with reference to Rahm, however in a very completely different gentle in comparison with earlier this yr.
(*2*) stated Rahm. “So it’s one thing to do it on the putting green, and it’s one thing to do it on the course. Yesterday, it seems it took me a little bit to get used to the greens, but towards the end I had it down and putted really, really well, so today I just kept it going.”Â
2022 CJ Cup up to date odds, picks
Odds through Caesars Sportsbook
- Jon Rahm: 17/10
- Rory McIlroy: 33/10
- Aaron Wise: 8-1
- Kurt Kitayama: 17/2
- Cam Davis: 9-1
- Tom Kim: 22-1
- Shane Lowry: 30-1
- Tyrrell Hatton: 50-1
- Tom Hoge: 50-1
Halfway via this event, and solely 9 gamers discover themselves with odds of 50-1 or shorter. There is loads of respect at the highest of this market, and rightfully so. When given the selection between Rahm and McIlroy versus the sphere, it is exhausting to not look within the route of the 2 Europeans.
Still, there’s a ton of golf to be performed, and now we have seen already that large numbers lurk round Congaree. With this in thoughts, it’s one other European in Shane Lowry who seems to be to be a effective choice. The Irishman by chance broken his putter within the first spherical and was capable of overcome this impediment with robust iron play; he ranks third in strokes gained strategy and fourth in strokes gained tee to inexperienced. At 7 below, he’s solely 4 strokes off the lead and sits at a worth much like what he was at the onset of the week.