Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama carded a stellar 6-under 64 to share the second-round lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Friday as he chases his first FedExCup Playoffs event victory.
Related: Matsuyama hits brilliant 65 at FedEx St Jude Championship
Matsuyama, who recently won the bronze medal at the Paris Olympics, remained in fine form at TPC Southwind in Memphis as he carded seven birdies against a single bogey to reach the halfway mark at 11-under 129. He is tied with American Denny McCarthy, who fired a 63 featuring nine birdies.
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The 129 total marks Matsuyama’s lowest 36-hole score on TOUR, bettering the 130 he posted at the 2018 BMW Championship and 2016 Wyndham Championship.
With the weekend rounds ahead, Matsuyama and McCarthy hold a one-shot advantage over Sam Burns (63), while FedExCup leader and Paris Olympic Games gold medalist Scottie Scheffler is a further shot back following a solid 65.
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Korea’s Tom Kim mounted an impressive comeback, rebounding from an opening 71 with a bogey-free 64. This vaulted him into a tie for 13th at 5-under. However, his compatriots faced tough challenges – Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im battled to matching 70s which left them tied for 42nd on 1-under. Si Woo Kim came home with a 74 as he dropped to a tie for 67th at 4-over.
Matsuyama, who is playing this week with a stand-in caddie, continued to display exceptional ball-striking and putting, sinking lengthy putts of 26 feet, 17 feet, and 33 feet on Hole Nos. 6, 9, and 11 respectively. His other four birdies came from within eight feet. The stellar form extended Matsuyama’s streak to 12 consecutive rounds of par or better, currently the longest active streak on TOUR.
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“I guess the long answer is I missed a short putt there at 2, knocked it in the water at 4, but from that point on, I really played well and putted well. Today (the weather) was nice and cool,” said Matsuyama, who ranks first through 36 holes in Strokes Gained: Putting.
The nine-time PGA TOUR winner aims to capitalize on his good run of form where a victory this week could propel him to third place in the FedExCup points list ahead of the BMW Championship which is limited to the top-50.
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Starting in third place at the Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Atlanta in two weeks’ time will see him start three back of runaway leader Scheffler, who has won six times on TOUR this season.
“I like the system, especially where I am at. It’s a little bit, I don’t know if unfair is the right word, but Scottie deserves to be much further ahead than just two strokes there at the TOUR Championship,” said Matsuyama.
“With that in mind, it’s tough for him, I think. But for me, I’m enjoying it.”
