Justin Lower had another six-under 65 without taking advantage of the par fives on Friday, giving him a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the PGA Tour’s Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
The island paradise was more like a grind in the wind and squalls of rain at Port Royal. The round did not finish before dark for the second straight day.
Lower, coming off a runner-up finish last week in Mexico, opened with three birdies in five holes and seized control with three straight birdies starting at No 12 with a six-foot putt. He rolled in a 20-footer from off the green at the 13th and made a sharp-breaking 15-footer on the next hole. The streak ended when his bunker shot on the 15th grazed the cup.
He just wishes he could have picked up shots on the par fives. He was in range at the 17th, only to miss the green right. His pitch rolled out to 12 feet and he missed the birdie putt.
“To not get the par fives when they’re all kind of reachable other than No 2 just being into the wind, that part kind of sucks,” Lower said. “It would have been nice to get one of those last two putts to go in on 17, 18, but still a great round and I’m happy where I’m at.”
He was at 12-under 130, two shots ahead of Robby Shelton (64) and Ryan Moore (65).
South Africa’s Garrick Higgo shared 26th position on five-under 137 after a round of 68 that included four birdies and a bogey.
– Edited report from PGA Tour website
Photo: Alex Slitz/Getty Images
