Some trademark short-game magic turned Shane Lowry’s fortunes around on day two of the PGA Tour’s Cognizant Classic at PGA National, and he heads to moving day just five shots behind the halfway leader, Jake Knapp.
It had largely been a frustrating first 14 holes for the Offaly man who managed just two birdies and a bogey before back-to-back hole-out chips on six and seven resulted in a pair of birdies that moved him to -8, where he’d end the day sharing 15th place.
Seamus Power won’t be around for the weekend, however, after a disappointing back nine saw the Waterford man go tumbling down the leaderboard.
An opening round of -2 needed to be followed with at least the same again with the cutline looking as though it would settle on a record low number at PGA National, and when Power birdied the third and seventh holes and turned at -2 for the day, he was well on course.
Back-to-back bogeys on 10 and 11 proved costly, and though he’d pick up a shot on 12, his tee shot on the par-3 15th found the water and lead to a double-bogey, effectively ending his chances of seeing weekend action.
Knapp, who became the 15th player to shoot a round in the 50s on the PGA Tour on Thursday, took 11 shots more to get around on Friday, opening the door for Lowry and a host of other challengers when a follow-up in the low 60s could’ve turned this into an early victory procession.
Starting round two on the back nine, Knapp birdied the first but made the turn at even par. After birdies on the third and fourthth holes, he stumbled with a double-bogey on the par-4 sixth after finding the water off the tee.
Despite this setback, Knapp finished the second round with a one-stroke lead over Matthieu Pavon of France, who carded a seven-under 64.
“I’ve never had to follow up a 59 at a tournament before. It’s all new to me,” Knapp said. “Yesterday everything was just clicking ball-striking-wise, distance control felt really good, was able to control flight and windows. All that was perfect.
“Today I think the winds were kind of stop-and-go and I just kind of misjudged a few things, but overall felt like I was still making good passes at it. A couple wayward shots but nothing too concerning.”
Having recorded 12 birdies during his bogey-free round on Thursday, the 30-year-old heads into the weekend with hopes of staying at the top.
“I think it all stays the same. Obviously, today wasn’t as great. I’ll go out and practice a little bit and make sure a few things are cleaned up,” he said.
“But for the most part, you can’t really overdo it on this course. You can’t overpower it or anything like that. Just got to take what it gives you.”
Pavon began his round with an impressive eagle on the par-5 10th. He reached the green in two and rolled in a 15-foot putt.
Building on that strong start, he made successive birdies and turned in five under for the round. He added three more birdies on the back nine, with his solid performance only slightly marred by a bogey on the difficult sixth hole, where he missed a short five-foot putt for par.
“The 10th hole was the dream start,” Pavon said. “A nice drive, like low cut, and I found myself with a nice number with a 4-iron, like 230 yards more or less, a little bit downwind off the right, and I hit that 4-iron perfect, a little hold against the wind, and I ended up 20, 25 feet.
“We had a great read with my caddie. We saw pretty easily the line, and I just made a super stroke to start with a three.
“I think we are getting better and better. I feel like my game is getting better and better after the few weeks I struggled early on this season.”
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