Dawie van der Walt and Tyrone van Aswegen will take a lot of confidence into the weekend after both produced two solid rounds to make the cut at the Quicken Loans National.
Van der Walt produced two up-and-down rounds of 70 to sit at two-under-par after 36 holes and in a tie for 36th position. The PGA Tour rookie who had missed five cuts in his last six starts was particularly good with his approach play, finding just shy of 78% of his greens in regulation in his second round.
The 33-year-old will take encouragement that the last time he made the cut at the Wells Fargo Championship, he ended up with a top-30 performance, something that is once again available at Congressional Country Club.
Journeyman Tyrone van Aswegen, who is enjoying his best season on the PGA Tour this year, made another cut after finishing at three-under-par after rounds of 69 and 70. The 34-year-old who has won just shy of three quarters of a million dollars this season, seems to be getting his season back on track.
After a promising start to the season, the two-time Sunshine Tour winner went through a difficult spell where he struggled to break 70 for nine tournaments in a row. As soon as the sixties came back, Van Aswegen has been making cuts regularly and this weeks cut made will be his fourth in a row. The Dallas resident produced a steady second round, collecting two birdies and 15 pars to go along with a single dropped shot. He currently sits in a tie for 25th and if he can kick on, there is no reason why he cannot record his seventh top-25 of the season.
Ernie Els continued to show why he likes Congressional Country Club so much, shooting a second-round 69 to a sit at seven-under-par after 36 holes, four shots behind the leaders. The ‘Big Easy’ unfortunately dropped three shots during his round, but did roll in five birdies along the way to end the day in a tie for fourth place.
Jon Rahm continued his dream debut as a professional as he shot a second round 67 to sit at 11-under-par and in a tie for the lead alongside local hero Billy Hurley III who fired a splendid six-under-par 65.
‘I’m just lucky to be here today,’ Rahm said. ‘If you tell me 10 years ago when I was 11 years old that I would be leading a PGA Tour event when I was 21, I wouldn’t believe you.’
The Spaniard had produced a flawless front nine to jump to 11-under-par and two birdies and a bogey on his back nine had seen him in the lead on his own at 12-under-par. An unfortunate bogey on the last hole meant he would have to be content with a share of the lead.
One of the standout performances in addition to Hurley shooting his 65 was veteran Vijay Singh, who backed up his opening round of 68 with a stellar 66 to sit in third place on his own, giving the the 53-year-old some optimism.
‘It would be good to win,’ the three-time major champion said. ‘But it’s only halfway, so I’ll be focused on my game tomorrow and see what happens.’
