Koepka Rebounds With 66
Brooks Koepka carded a 66 in round two at the Cognizant Classic after fixing his putter, rebounding from early struggles to make the cut comfortably. Austin Smotherman extended his lead to three shots after 36 holes, thanks in part to six consecutive birdies that put him in prime position for the weekend.
After a dismal opening round 74, Brooks Koepka spent just 15 minutes on the phone with his putting coach and another 30 minutes on the practice green. The small adjustment to his hand position at setup paid off, as he gained nearly four strokes on the field with his putter in round two, a massive improvement from being 111th in the field in that statistic a day prior. Koepka's 66 was not just a rebound; it was his best round in a non-major on the PGA Tour in nearly four years. The five-time major champion has been experimenting with his equipment, recently switching to a TaylorMade Spider Tour X mallet putter and even changing his golf ball for this tournament. At the top of the leaderboard, Austin Smotherman is holding his first-ever 36-hole lead in his 82nd career start on the PGA Tour. The 31-year-old is in his fourth season on tour after previously losing his card and earning his way back through the Korn Ferry Tour, where he is a three-time winner. Smotherman's impressive performance, including a first-round 62, has been powered by his putting; he leads the field in Strokes Gained: Putting and has made over 246 feet of putts through the first two rounds. He sits at 11-under, three shots clear of his nearest competitor, Taylor Moore. PGA National's Champion Course has been a topic of debate, with many players noting it has played significantly easier in recent years. Winning scores have plummeted from single digits under par to as low as 19-under. This is largely attributed to the course being overseeded with more forgiving rye grass and the once-brutal 10th hole being converted from a long par 4 to a more reachable par 5. The "Bear Trap," the infamous stretch of holes 15 through 17, remains a formidable challenge, but the softened course conditions have led to more birdies and less carnage than in previous years. This has drawn criticism from some tour veterans who miss the traditionally tough test of the "old" PGA National. Chasing Smotherman are Taylor Moore at 8-under, and a pair of players at 7-under: Nico Echavarria and PGA Tour rookie A.J. Ewart, who shot the round of the day on Friday with a 64. A bunched field behind them includes major champion Shane Lowry and former Ryder Cup player Daniel Berger.
