Russell Henley carded an eight-under 63 for the second day running to secure a three-shot lead at 16 under; Sam Ryder and day one leader Will Gordon, who are tied for second at 13 under; Ryder and Gordon are each searching for their first wins on the PGA Tour
Saturday 5 November 2022 10:23, UK
Russell Henley fired his second-straight round of eight under to build a three-shot lead at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba on Friday in Riviera Maya, Mexico.
For the second day running, Henley piled up eight birdies without a bogey in a round of 63. At 16 under for the tournament, he has established a cushion over both Sam Ryder and day one leader Will Gordon, who are tied for second at 13 under.
Henley started his round at El Camaleon Golf Club on the back nine and made four birdies on each side. He rolled in three in a row at holes 11 through 13, as well as six through eight.
"It starts off the tee," Henley said after his round. "There's some intimidating tee shots for me and I'm just trying to commit to what I'm doing and commit to trying a great shot. Just being in a good head space for those tee shots is a good start."
Gordon was the leader after an opening-round 62. He had a bogey-free card on Friday, but just four birdies to see him slip back into a share of second.
Ryder, meanwhile, shot a seven-under 29 on the front nine, but ran out of steam, bogeying holes 10 and 16 on the way to carding a 65.
"I came out and just didn't really miss much on the front, was playing really solid, driving it well, making some putts is always nice, had one chip-in," Ryder said. "Then kind of just got a little loose on the back and this place, with a little bit more wind, it can be a little bit nervier off the tee.
"I think I just got a little out of sync there, but I managed it pretty well.
"It was the tale of two nines for me but, all in all, I'm pretty happy with the way I got it around and I'm just going to continue to keep doing what I'm doing."
Ryder and Gordon are each searching for their first wins on the PGA Tour.
Patton Kizzire shot his second-straight 65 to sit in fourth place at 12 under, while Sweden's David Lingmerth is in fifth at 11 under after his 66.
Harry Higgs shot the round of the day, a nine-under 62, to leap into a tie for sixth at 10 under with Brian Harman and Scotland's Martin Laird.
Higgs stayed bogey-free and holed out from 86 yards for eagle at the par-four third to go with seven birdies.
"I thought it was going to be really good, so all I said was 'in', and that's usually the curse," Higgs said of his eagle. "It either will like fly in the hole and come out or it will lip out. Fortunately, I called for it early and it fell in the hole."
World No 9 Collin Morikawa shot a bogey-free 63, including four-straight birdies at holes four through seven to move clear of the cut line and up to a tie for 14th at eight under.
"This golf course, the way it's playing, you can post two really good low ones on the weekend," Morikawa said. "I'm definitely going to need that if I'm going to be in contention, but after today I'm feeling pretty good."
Sixty-eight players made the cut of at least four under. Notable names to miss out included Tony Finau (three under), Jason Dufner (three under) and England's Justin Rose (one under).
