Charl Schwartzel carded a spectacular second-round 65 on Friday to move within five shots of the lead at the Valspar Championship.
Schwartzel delivered a solid display at the Copperhead Course in Florida to be in contention ahead of the weekend’s action.
The South African made three birdies and a bogey on the front nine but propelled up the leaderboard with a flawless display after the turn.
Schwartzel, who won the Valspar Championship back in 2016, sank a defiant eagle on the par-five 11th hole before backing it up with two more birdies on 13 and 17 – signing off with a round of six under.
It moved the 36-year-old up to T6 on the leaderboard where he will start Saturday’s moving round on seven under par for the event.
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Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns led the way, however, at the halfway stage of the event. Bradley, the overnight leader, shot a round of 66, while Burns went eight under for his second round as both players signed off on 12 under par.
They hold a solid four-shot lead over their nearest contenders with Lucas Glover, Max Homa and Charley Hoffman all locked in T3 on eight under par for the week.
Fellow South African Branden Grace also made further headway on Friday after a steady start in the opening round.
Grace shot a round of three-under-par 68 to move up to T16 and on five under for the competition.
After a poor start on Thursday, Louis Oosthuizen made an excellent turnaround with a second-round 67, meaning he will head into the third round on two under par.
Erik van Rooyen unfortunately missed the cut for the weekend at the Valspar Championship.
