JB Holmes shot a 65, a day after making a hole-in-one in an opening 64, to move ahead by one at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Holmes played a five-hole stretch on his first nine in five under with birdies on the par-five 13th and 15th and par-three 16th, and an eagle on the short par-four 17th. He made a 16-footer from the back fringe on the stadium 16th, then drove to 6 1/2 to set up the eagle on the 319-yard 17th.
‘I was just worried about it maybe going too far left,’ Holmes said. ‘But when I hit it, I thought I hit it about right and hopefully it would hit into that bank or bounce just up and it did.’
He bogeyed the par-four 18th and took the lead from Wyndham Clark with birdies on the par-four 1st and par-five 3rd. Holmes chipped in for birdie on the par-four 6th and gave back the stroke on the par-four 9th after hitting into a greenside bunker.
‘Hit it really good in the middle of the round,’ Holmes said. ‘Didn’t hit it quite as good toward the end, but putted really well and was able to make some birdies.’
Holmes won at TPC Scottsdale in 2006 and 2008 for the first of his five PGA TOUR titles.
Clark is second, following a career-best 61 with a 69. He finished with birdies on 17 and 18. Billy Horschel was third with Byeong Hun An.
Branden Grace hit 12 of 18 greens in regulation but made just one bogey following an errant tee shot on the 11th to sign for a second 67. He will start inside the top 10 on Saturday with Dylan Frittelli surviving into the weekend albeit down in a share of 55th.
Charl Schwartzel’s comeback on the PGA TOUR was derailed by a second 73 as he missed the cut by some distance.
Jon Rahm is one back of Grace after a 68. After five straight birdies, he bogeyed two of the last three.
‘Frustrated is a very light way of putting it right now,’ Rahm said. ‘I put a great swing on five birdies, playing great golf, and then just an absolutely terrible finish.’
Defending champion Rickie Fowler rebounded from an opening 74 with a 65 to get to six under. He eagled the par-five 13th and 15th.
‘Just put myself in play and was able to just work my way around the golf course,’ Fowler said.
Fourth-ranked Justin Thomas was six under after his second straight 68.
