Sahith Theegala holed out for eagle from a greenside bunker and added seven birdies to join a tie for the second-round lead at the Fortinet Championship on Friday in Napa, Calif.
Theegala fired an 8-under 64 to move to 12-under 132, tied with South Korea’s S.H. Kim, who shot a 67 Friday at Silverado Resort’s North Course.
They are one shot clear of South Korea’s Sangmoon Bae, who posted a second-round 66. Eric Cole (66) is alone in fourth at 10 under and Kelly Kraft (69) sits in fifth at 9 under.
Theegala’s round began on the back nine, where he birdied three of his first six holes before his only bogey of the day at the par-4 16th hole. The California native got the stroke back at the par-5 18th before he drained a double-breaking, 48-foot birdie putt at the par-3 second.
The eagle came at the par-5 fifth, where his shot out of the sand bounced softly and tracked straight into the cup. He finished the round with birdies at Nos. 6 and 9.
Two-time defending champion Max Homa and Justin Thomas moved into a tie for sixth at 8 under. Playing one last tournament before they head to Rome for the Ryder Cup later this month, Homa carded a 66 Friday and Thomas hit 17 of 18 greens in regulation en route to a 67.
Australia’s Lucas Herbert, who opened with a 9-under 63 to lead after one round, tumbled down the leaderboard Friday thanks to a 75. He is now tied for 19th at 6 under.
Notable names missing the projected cut of 3 under par include Zach Johnson and Stewart Cink at 1 under. Johnson and Cink will turn their attention to Rome as the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s captain and vice captain.
The Fortinet Championship is the first of seven events in the newly designed “FedEx Cup Fall” series. Players need to finish the fall in the top 125 of the points standings to retain full eligibility for the 2024 season. The top 50 players from this summer’s FedEx Cup playoffs are already locked in.
–Field Level Media