Matt Kuchar backed up his opening round of 66 with another six-under-par 66 on Friday, to be joint-leader on 12-under-par at the Memorial Tournament after the second round. Kuchar is joined at the top by Brendan Steele who shot a 67 to also get to 12-under-par.
‘Playing good, steady golf. A lot of good shots, still playing nicely. The conditions are still there for the taking. Again, very benign conditions. It’s as easy as this place, I remember ever seeing it, even though greens still fast. You can get in the wrong spot, but you don’t have to worry too much about the wind. The ball’s going, great temperatures. It’s fun to be out there playing and making some birdies around this place’ Kuchar said after his round.
Starting his round on the 10th, the Florida-born golfer opened with four straight pars before a birdie and bogey followed on his fifth and sixth holes. He birdied the 17th and 18th (his eighth and ninth) to go out in 34 strokes.
His second nine began in sedate fashion with three straight pars. When the 37-year-old got to the fourth (his 13th), everything went uphill from then on for the 2013 Memorial champion. He went on to birdie four of his last five holes to climb into the lead by the end of his round.
With Kuchar bringing red hot form into the tournament with five top-10 finishes in his last seven starts, his confidence was there for all to see.
‘My game’s good. Been playing good, solid, steady golf. It’s been now — it feels like it’s my fourth week of really good golf. Hope to continue for a good weekend. Certainly, the start is great. I love this golf course. I love coming here. I’ve got great feelings, winning in 2013, but a lot of nice solid finishes. It’s certainly been a nice Thursday, Friday start, and looking forward to a great weekend’ he said.
From a South African perspective, Charl Schwartzel backed up his opening round 68 with three-under-par 69 to be at seven-under-par for the tournament and in a tie for 12th place. George Coetzee shot a solid 69 to share 43rd place on four-under-par and make the cut. Thomas Aiken and Ernie Els will not be around for the weekend after both missing the cut.
