AP Photo/Darron Cummings
Patrick Cantlay may be halfway to a victory at the 2021 Memorial Tournament.
He is tied for the lead with Jon Rahm at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, after shooting a five-under 67 in Friday’s second round.
Cantlay and Rahm are tied after a day when a large portion of the field had to finish the first round before starting the second thanks to rainy conditions cutting play short on Thursday.
Some, including Rahm, did not even finish their second round since everything was pushed back from the initial delays. The second round will resume Saturday morning at 8 a.m. ET.
The full leaderboard can be found at PGATour.com.
T1. Patrick Cantlay, -8
T1. Jon Rahm, -8 through 13
3. Scottie Scheffler, -6
T4. Carlos Ortiz, -5
T4. Max Homa, -5 through 14
T4. Xander Schauffele, -5 through 12
T4. Rickie Fowler, -5 through 11
Cantlay played with Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau on Friday, but he was the biggest star on the course in the early portion of the day.
The 29-year-old played 33 holes following a 4:30 a.m. ET wake-up call after his opening round was almost entirely rained out. He set the groundwork with an impressive three-under 69 in that first round and then caught fire to finish his second round with three straight birdies to jump to the solo lead at eight-under.
“We’re out there for such a long time today that you can fall asleep at the wheel a little bit,” he told reporters. “And, so, being cognizant of that and checking in with yourself, ‘are you as focused as you can be when you need to be,’ is key.”
He also called it a “pleasant surprise to birdie the last three” given how tired he was at that point of his round.
That birdie streak put him atop the leaderboard before the late tee times, but Rahm, who is the defending Memorial Tournament champion, tied him and may ultimately pass him by the end of his second round on Saturday.
Rahm followed his three-under 69 in the opening round with six birdies and one bogey through 13 holes in the second round. If he continues to play like he did while notching birdies on four straight holes on Nos. 4-7, it will be difficult for Cantlay to hold him off.
Rahm is part of a loaded field that features a number of notable names and 10 of the top 11 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings. Spieth (-1), Rory McIlroy (E), DeChambeau (-1), Hideki Matsuyama (-4 through 14), Justin Thomas (-2) and Viktor Hovland (-2) were among those positioned to make the cut.
Rickie Fowler (-5 through 11) and Xander Schauffele (-5 through 12) also look capable of challenging for a title.
Nobody was more impressive than Collin Morikawa in the first round, who held a solo lead with a six-under 66. That put him under the spotlight on Friday, and he seemed to be well on his way to taking the lead back from Cantlay when he birdied the 10th hole to pull within a stroke at seven-under.
And then the 12th hole happened.
His tee shot on the par-three hole went into the water, and he ended up with a triple bogey and fell down the leaderboard. He is still in solid position at four-under through 12 in the second round, but it will take a strong effort to overcome that triple-bogey.
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