After day 2 at the Tour Championship, we see a leaderboard that is still tightly packed as we head into the weekend.
Collin Morikawa continues to shine.
Let’s run through the events of the day!
Morikawa stole the headlines in round one with a scintillating opening round of 61, but the question is, could he keep the form going?
He answered with an emphatic yes by shooting 64 to remain one of the leaders.
Six birdies and no bogeys mean he is yet to drop a shot in the tournament.
But more significantly, Morikawa’s two-round total of 125 sets a new East Lake record, eclipsing the previous score of 127 shot by Tiger Woods in 2007.
Let’s take a look at the leaderboard:
| POS | – | PLAYER | TOTAL | THRU | ROUND | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | STROKES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | – |  Viktor Hovland | -16 | F | -6 | 68 | 64 | – | – | 132 |
| T1 | – |  Collin Morikawa | -16 | F | -6 | 61 | 64 | – | – | 125 |
| 3 | +1 | Scottie Scheffler | -14 | F | -5 | 71 | 65 | – | – | 136 |
| 4 | -3 | Keegan Bradley | -13 | F | -3 | 63 | 67 | – | – | 130 |
| T5 | +5 | Xander Schauffele | -12 | F | -6 | 67 | 64 | – | – | 131 |
| T5 | +2 |  Jon Rahm | -12 | F | -5 | 69 | 65 | – | – | 134 |
| 7 | – |  Rory McIlroy | -10 | F | -3 | 70 | 67 | – | – | 137 |
| T8 | +2 | Wyndham Clark | -9 | F | -3 | 68 | 67 | – | – | 135 |
| T8 | +2 |  Tyrrell Hatton | -9 | F | -3 | 64 | 67 | – | – | 131 |
| T8 | -1 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -9 | F | -2 | 67 | 68 | – | – | 135 |
| T11 | +6 | Sam Burns | -8 | F | -4 | 66 | 66 | – | – | 132 |
| T11 | -6 | Adam Schenk | -8 | F | E | 63 | 70 | – | – | 133 |
The form of Victor Hovland at the moment can best be described as relentless.
Hovland matched Morikawa’s 64 – which also keeps him at the top of the leaderboard at 16 under par.
Hovland’s round was a clinical display of the scoring form he’s in at the moment, featuring four birdies in a row in the middle of his back nine.
The only blemish for Hovland was a dropped shot at the 7th.
The third overnight leader from the first round, Keegan Bradley, shot 67 to fall three behind the leaders.
Bradley didn’t do much wrong in his second round, mixing one bogey with four birdies, but the electric pace of Morikawa and Hovland left him trailing in their wake.
As suspected, the form shown by Scottie Scheffler in round one was nothing more than a temporary blip.
Scheffler completed his second round in 65 shots to vault up to second outright and a menacing two shots behind the leaders.
Scheffler’s round was clean, with five birdies and no drop shots, and in what could be an ominous sign for the field, he had a better day with the putter.
Another player joining the 64 club on Friday was Xander Schauffle, lifting him up the leaderboard to tie 5th.
Schauffle has a fantastic scoring record around East Lake, and yesterday, he demonstrated why he is so good around this course with six birdies and no drop shots on the par 70 layout.
His 64 means that he hasn’t shot over par in the last 26 rounds he’s played at East Lake, which is genuinely fantastic scoring.
The European threat is still to gather any momentum after the second round.
Jon Rahm remains the leading European, firing a second-round 65 to lie four off the lead.
His round mixed two bogeys with seven birdies, but he could have gone really low when he birdied three of his first six holes on the day.
Rory McIlroy lost further ground, but it’s obvious that he is still struggling with a bad back.
The positive for McIlroy is that he shot a 3 under par 67, and he spoke after the round that he felt the discomfort he felt on Thursday’s round wasn’t as bad, giving him a little freer movement in round two.
It does, however, look like a tall order for McIlroy to claim an unprecedented fourth Fed Ex Cup title and become the first player to win back-to-back titles.
Three players sit at 9 under par – U.S. Open champion Wydham Clark and the English duo of Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrell Hatton, who all shot under par for their second rounds.
The problem for these players is that if Hovland and Morikawa continue the pace they have set in the first two rounds, they and the rest of the field will have to go seriously low on Saturday to get into the mix for the Sunday finale.
