Spanish star Jon Rahm shot a 9-under 62 in the second round of The CJ Cup in South Carolina to tie Kurt Kitayama for the lead on Friday in Ridgeland, S.C.
Rahm and Kitayama are at 11-under 131 through two rounds, one ahead of Cam Davis of Australia and Aaron Wise and two ahead of defending champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.
Rahm poured in four straight birdies at Nos. 3-6 at Congaree Golf Club to get his round going. His approach at the par-4 17th trickled just over the lip of the cup and left him a 1-foot birdie, his third in a row and his 10th of the day.
“I thought I was 20 feet short,” Rahm said. “I thought it wasn’t moving because it was a shadow and we couldn’t really see it. Then obviously the crowd let us know. That was a really good feeling swing.”
The world No. 5 had a faint chance at 59, needing an eagle on the final hole. But Rahm missed the green and had a long three-putt bogey, the only blemish on his card.
Kitayama shot a 6-under 65 to reach 11 under for the event. He had three birdies and two bogeys through 10 holes before coming alive with a birdie-eagle run at Nos. 11 and 12, followed by birdies at the 16th and 18th holes.
At the par-5 12th, Kitayama holed out for eagle from a greenside sand bunker.
“I think it was rolling pretty hot,” Kitayama said. “Went in dead center, so that was good.”
The 29-year-old American has won on the DP World Tour and Asian Tour but is seeking his first professional win stateside.
Davis and Wise each shot their second straight rounds of 66 to get to 10 under. Davis made three short birdie putts in a row at Nos. 14-16 after leaving his approaches 3, 8 and 6 feet from the cup, respectively.
McIlroy posted a 67, recovering from two bogeys on the front nine by shooting 5-under 30 on the back nine. He had roughly 7 1/2 feet for his sixth birdie of the day at No. 18.
“I know if I just keep hitting good golf shots, even the tough holes are birdieable if you hit your ball well enough. There’s plenty of chances out here,” McIlroy said.
McIlroy won last year’s CJ Cup, but at a different course in Las Vegas.
There was no 36-hole cut for the limited 78-player field. A large tie for sixth four strokes back at 7 under included Billy Horschel (67), Irishman Shane Lowry (67), Englishman Tyrrell Hatton (68) and rising star Tom Kim of South Korea (69).
–Field Level Media