Sunday 4 February 2018 01:46, UK
Rickie Fowler fired another 66 to earn a share of the halfway lead with the fast-finishing Bryson DeChambeau as a record crowd turned out for day two of the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Fowler matched his opening round but was denied the outright lead when he misjudged a pitch at the 17th and dropped his second shot of the back nine, while DeChambeau birdied the final two holes to join the clubhouse leader on 10 under.
Fan favourite Phil Mickelson delighted the packed galleries at TPC Scottsdale as he birdied five of the last six holes to get within three of the leaders, but Jordan Spieth's disappointing start to the year continued as he missed the halfway cut by one stroke.
Friday's attendance was officially recorded at an astonishing 191,400, a new record for one of the most popular sporting events in the United States, and organisers have predicted that the overall crowds for the week could reach 800,000.
Daniel Berger had set the early target at nine under after returning a flawless six-birdie 65, but he was soon overtaken by Fowler when the Ryder Cup star birdied four of the first six holes, starting with a superb 30-foot putt for a three at the first.
Fowler holed another long-range putt to pick up another shot at the 10th, although he gave it straight back when he failed to get up and down from a greenside bunker at the next.
The world No 7 atoned with birdies at each of the two par-fives on the inward half, the 13th and 15th, and he had high hopes of getting to 12 under at 17 only to over-hit a chip which raced past the flag and rolled off the other side of the green.
Fowler took three more to get down before a cast-iron par at the last kept him out in front, but he soon had company at the top when DeChambeau made his sixth birdie of the day at 18, where he came within inches of holing out for eagle from over 120 yards.
Jon Rahm had looked set to challenge for the lead when he got to eight under with his fourth birdie at the 13th, but he struggled to contain his temper two holes later when he pulled his drive into water.
The world No 2 went on to drop his first shot of the round, and he did well to save par at the 17th after finding the hazard to the left of the green, but he steadied himself with a closing par which completed a 68.
Rahm's finish was a stark contrast to that of his playing-partner Mickelson, both of them former students at Arizona State University, as the left-hander prompted some of the loudest cheers of the day with his grandstand finish.
The three-time Phoenix champion was flirting with the cut when he bogeyed the 12th to slip to two under, but he birdied 13 and then reeled off four in a row from the 15th, raising the roof when he nailed a 25-foot putt for a three at the last to join Rahm in a share of eighth.
Martin Laird remained as the leading British challenger after the big-hitting Scot carded a solid 67 featuring five birdies and just one bogey, lifting him alongside the likes of Rahm, Mickelson and Tour Championship winner Xander Schauffele on seven under.
Justin Thomas is a further stroke off the pace following a second 68 in which he missed a series of birdie chances, while Bubba Watson, twice a runner-up in this event, is also on six under after he kept a bogey off his card in a two-birdie 69.
But Spieth will not be around for the weekend after another frustrating day, mixing three birdies with two bogeys in a 70 which proved one shot too many to survive the cut.
The tournament also lost two-time defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, whose to emulate Arnold Palmer's three consecutive Phoenix Open victories was scuppered by a wrist injury.
The Japanese ace was forced to withdraw before heading out with Fowler and Webb Simpson for the second round and revealed he had suffered the injury midway through his first-round 69.
