Scottie Scheffler shot a second-round 61 to seize the lead at the FedEx St Jude Championship on Friday, moving to 11 under par and three shots clear at the halfway point in Memphis. The world No. 1 tied the course record and put himself in control of the opening event of the FedEx Cup play-offs.
For readers checking the PGA leaderboard today, the race is already about more than one hot round. The top 70 in the standings earned a place at the FedEx St Jude Championship, but only the top 50 after this week go on to the BMW Championship and only the top 30 after that reach The Tour Championship. That means every score now shifts the shape of the next two weeks, not just the weekend.
Scheffler’s round was built in a hurry. He opened with five successive birdies, then dropped shots at the eighth and 12th holes before closing with four birdies in his last five holes. Sungjae Im and Viktor Hovland were the closest challengers, both three shots behind after two rounds, while Scheffler’s 61 matched the course record rather than merely getting close to it.
The chasing pack had a very different day. Rory McIlroy finished with a level-par 70 and was tied for 62nd in the 69-strong field at four under, undone by bogey fives at the last two holes. Jordan Spieth was six under after a second-round 69, and Tommy Fleetwood reached the weekend at six under too after a bogey-free 68.
Fleetwood said he had played a very patient round and was glad to be going into the weekend in a good position, but he also captured the mood around Scheffler’s surge. “What can we do about Scottie Scheffler?” he asked, saying the answer was to manage your own game as best as possible and see what happens. That is the reality now: the leaderboard is no longer about catching a field, but about whether anyone can make the weekend chase at all. The third round is scheduled to be shown live on Sky Sports Golf from 4pm on Saturday.
