Lucas Glover closed with back-to-back birdies to retain the lead after Friday’s second round of the Barbasol Championship.
Glover fired a four-under par 68 to stand on 13-under 131 after 36 holes at Keene Trace Golf Club course in Nicholasville, Kentucky.
“It was a bit of a struggle,” said Glover, the 2009 US Open winner seeking his first title since 2021. “I uncharacteristically drove it very poorly. I just didn’t hit enough fairways to hit the ball close and take it low again. I’m happy with the way I finished and the way I rolled it, just not many of them were very close.”
It was good enough for a two-stroke lead over fellow American Adam Long, England’s Daniel Brown and Sweden’s Vincent Norrman with South Africans Jayden Schaper and Louis de Jager, Frenchman Adrien Saddier and American Ryan Moore on 10-under 134.
Schaper and De Jager shot rounds of 65 and 66 respectively.
Glover, whose only victory since 2011 came at the 2021 John Deere Classic, has been in the top six in each of his past two starts as he chases a fifth career PGA Tour triumph.
Back-nine starter Glover sank birdie putts from just outside four feet at the par-five 11th and par-four 18th.
The 43-year-old drove the par-five 5th green in two to set up a tap-in birdie then took his lone bogey, a three-putt bogey at the 6th, before responding with a tap-in birdie at the par-five 8th and a 34-foot birdie putt at the par-three 9th.
“Birdied the last two, makes lunch taste good,” Glover said. “It was a little scrappy today, but I hung in there, got around through four and knew I had a couple par fives I could get to and just said let’s just grind this out and I did. I’m pleased with the end result.”
It was Glover’s 10th consecutive PGA Tour round in the 60s, including the 63 that gave him the 18-hole lead.
“I’m very comfortable, mainly because I’m putting well,” he said. “This time of year on Tour when it’s warm, scores usually get low because things get soft, especially the greens, so you know you’ve got to be more aggressive, try to make as many birdies as you can.”
Predictions of afternoon storms prompted organisers to schedule Saturday’s third round in threesomes off the first and 10th tees with early morning tee times.
World No 112 Glover is the top-ranked player at the $3.8-million event, played opposite the Scottish Open, where most of the world’s top players are competing.
The winner in Kentucky claims a berth in next week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the year’s final Major.
© Agence France-Presse
