Harold Varner III started his second round with a triple bogey on hole No. 10. He responded with eight birdies to reclaim the top spot on the leaderboard. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI |
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June 12 (UPI) -- Harold Varner III shook off a triple bogey to take a 1-shot lead over a red-hot Jordan Spieth in the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge on Friday at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.
Varner started on the back nine and had his opening tee shot fly through the trees and land on a bridge, leading to a one-shot penalty. Three putts from 50 feet away gave him a triple bogey to start his second round after ending in a first-place tie with Justin Rose on Thursday.
Varner answered with eight birdies and wound up with a 66 for a one-shot lead over Spieth atop the leaderboard.
"Obviously not the start I wanted, but it's just a part of golf," Varner said. "If I would have tripled the last [hole], it would have added up the same. ... You just can't live in the past. It's not a great place to be and it's hard to learn from there."
Spieth, who began the day tied for seventh after he shot 5-under par in the first round, continued his hot streak by hitting 7 of 7 fairways and 8 of 9 greens on the back nine to start his second round of the tournament.
He sank four birdies on the back nine to shoot 4-under par through his first nine holes. He then made back-to-back birdies on the front nine to move to 11-under par.
Spieth carded a double bogey on No. 3 and a bogey on the next hole to slip back to 8-under par. He responded with birdies on hole Nos. 5 and 6 to sit in a second-place tie with Bryson DeChambeau, who played bogey-free for his 65.
Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele (66) and Collin Morikawa (67) were tied for fourth at 9-under 131, with Justin Thomas (68) and Rose (69) among those a shot back.
Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, Webb Simpson, Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar were among those who failed to make the cut Friday. Tom Lehman, a 61-year-old former champion at Colonial, shot a 5-under 65 Thursday to sit two strokes behind the leaders, but he failed to make the cut after a 74 Friday.
Golf became the second major sport in the United States -- behind motorsports -- to resume its season Thursday after a 91-day shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic. Before the tournament began, golfers, caddies and other essential personnel were required to be tested for the virus, with all 487 tests coming back negative.
Third round play begins at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday in Fort Worth.
