Shane Lowry will go into the weekend in a tie for 61st after a disappointing three-over-par second round at the Cadillac Championship at Doral, while Cameron Young pulled five shots clear at the top.
A level-par opening round had Lowry in the middle of the 72-man field for the PGA Signature Event at the Donald Trump-owned resort in Miami, and he remained on that number through 14 holes in round two despite bogeyeing three of his first nine holes.
He made the turn at +2, but then picked up birdies on each of the par-5s on the back side before disaster struck on the par-3 15th. Playing to a green guarded by water long and short, Lowry underhit his first attempt and splashed down, then overcorrected from the drop zone and found the hazard long. This time, he was able to drop at greenside and managed to get up-and-down, but it resulted in a triple bogey-six that dropped him to +3 overall and that’s how he finished.
It leaves him tied for 61st but with no cut to worry about, he has two further rounds to repair some of the damage and gain confidence in what is his final tournament start ahead of the PGA Championship at Aronimink.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was among the big movers on day two as the Texan fired a five-under 67 to climb into a share of sixth place at -6, but it was Scheffler’s playing partner Cameron Young who will have left the golf course happiest for the second day in succession.
An opening, bogey-free eight-under gave the reigning Players Championship winner the outright lead and though his blemish-free tournament came to an end on the 14th, he’d already picked up five birdies by that stage and then added another on the 16th to end the day at 13-under and with a healthy five-stroke lead over his nearest challengers.
Young wasn’t quite firing on all cylinders, but to still turn it into a 67 on a testing golf course will give him fresh confidence heading into the final 36 holes.
“I think I just managed misses really well,” he said. “I putted really well. I feel like I just took advantage of the opportunities I had. I didn’t hit it terrible but I just wasn’t consistently in position all day, I didn’t drive it amazing. I think that’s kind of what I would like to do better tomorrow.”
The trio of Nick Taylor, Jordan Spieth and Alex Smalley share second place at -8, with Taylor’s 70 besting Spieth and Smalley’s 71s.
Alex Fitzpatrick, making his first tournament start as a PGA Tour member after earning his playing rights alongside brother Matt at last week’s Zurich Classic, shot a six-under 66 that was only bettered by Kurt Kitayama’s 64. The Englishman sits alongside Scheffler in a tie for sixth, with Gary Woodland one shot ahead in solo fifth place at -7.
Fitzpatrick continues to ride high on the emotional wave of his victory and he admitted that he’s been overwhelmed by the amount of congratulations he’s received in the five days that followed his victory.
“The text messages and stuff has slowed down, but the overwhelming feeling of like joy and happiness is yet to go away,” he said. “So I think for me this year it’s going to be a whirlwind and no matter what happens it will be a success. I can’t believe how many people have come up to me and congratulated me and players and caddies and staff, it’s been incredible. So yeah they really made me feel welcome, and that was really nice.”
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