Richard T. Lee took the lead at LIV Golf Indianapolis on Friday, finishing two rounds at 11-under and moving one shot clear of Dustin Johnson and Laurie Canter. After opening with a 63, Lee backed it up with a 66 to turn a tied first-round lead into the outright halfway advantage.
The reason the event is drawing fresh attention now is simple: the field is still jammed together at the top. Johnson and Canter sit tied for second at 10-under, while Thomas Detry, Thomas Pieters, Abraham Ancer, Michael La Sasso, Joaquín Niemann, Matthew Wolff, Lee Westwood and Cameron Smith are all just a shot further back at 9-under, close enough that one clean round can reshape the board.
Lee’s position matters because the margin is slim and the numbers behind him are crowded. Detry, one of the 4Aces players near the top, posted 66 and 64 to reach 10-under alongside Johnson, while Johnson has been the field’s most efficient iron player through two rounds and also sits fifth off the tee. That combination has kept 4Aces in the hunt too, with three players inside the top five individually after 36 holes.
There is still a hard edge to the leaderboard. Thomas Pieters carded a 65 to get to 9-under, and Abraham Ancer’s second-round 65 for Torque GC included birdies at holes 11 through 16 before a double bogey slowed him down. Michael La Sasso, meanwhile, produced the round of the day with a 10-under 60, the kind of score that can lift a player from the middle of the pack straight into contention. Bryson DeChambeau is also not out of it, sitting 15th at 7-under and close enough to keep pressure on the leaders if the pace slips.
Friday left the tournament at the halfway stage, with the weekend set to decide the Indianapolis title, the Team Championship and the final two spots on the season-long Individual Championship podium. Torque GC held second in the team standings at 26-under, while HyFlyers GC and Ripper GC were tied for third at 25-under, a single stroke in either direction from taking control.
The next 36 holes will tell whether Lee’s one-shot lead survives the kind of squeeze that has already pulled the top of the board into a narrow band. If it does not, LIV Golf Indianapolis could turn on one swing before Saturday is over.
