After getting past an ill-timed interruption at the end of his round, Davis Riley polished off a bogey-free, 6-under 64 on Friday to claim the second-round lead of the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas.
Riley enters the weekend at 10-under 130, two shots clear of the field. Pierceson Coody and Hayden Buckley each shot 65 to take second place at 8 under.
After racking up five of his six birdies in a six-hole stretch midway through his round, Riley faced 3 feet left for par at his final hole, the par-4 ninth — when play was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at Colonial Country Club.
The delay officially lasted an hour and nine minutes. Riley made good use of the time before returning to the green to hit his par putt.
“I was starving, so I got some food, which was nice,” Riley said. “Luckily, it was a 3-footer straight up the hill. So wasn’t too much to stress about. I knocked in about five 3-footers before walking over there to cap off the round. Yeah, hit it center cut and made it. It was nice to finish the day and made for a good pretty stress-free 6-under.”
Riley birdied the 15th and 16th holes before running in three more at Nos. 18, 1 and 2. He capped his scoring for the day by sticking his approach at the par-4 sixth hole 10 feet away, then draining the right-to-left putt.
Riley’s only win on the PGA Tour came last year at the Zurich Classic, the team event in New Orleans, alongside Nick Hardy. He missed seven of 14 cuts this year coming to Colonial.
“Having being able to win Zurich, which is a team event, and having a couple close calls in individual events, you draw back on stuff like that,” Riley said. “Just trying to improve on the times I had (contended) before, maybe I could have handled a certain situation better here or there, but also telling yourself that you can handle the situation and believing in yourself.”
Buckley made five birdies on a bogey-free round, while Coody started and finished strong. He holed out for an eagle 2 on a 49-yard pitch shot from the second fairway. Three bogeys and three birdies later, he managed to finish his day with three straight birdies.
Coody, 24, and his twin brother Parker Coody are in the field on sponsor invitations. The natives of nearby Plano played at the University of Texas and are getting their professional careers off the ground.
“It’s a nice feeling (being tied for second) because the season hasn’t been what I wanted it to this year, and to know that my game’s going the right direction, it’s great,” Pierceson Coody said. “I’m trying to stay kind of in a process mindset with everything and just build because I know I have still a lot of events left and an opportunity to go win the tournament is a great feeling.”
Parker Coody made the cut on the number at 2 over par.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Sungjae Im matched Riley for the low round of the day with a 64 and is in a tie at 6 under with Keegan Bradley (66) and Austria’s Sepp Straka (66). Brian Harman and Tony Finau each shot 69 on Friday and are in a five-way tie at 5 under.
Gary Woodland, the 2019 U.S. Open winner who is back on tour after surgery to remove a brain tumor, had the only other 64 of the day and is tied at 4 under. Woodland picked up an eagle, seven birdies and three bogeys.
It was Woodland’s lowest round since returning to competition.
“I’m still battling, still on medication, still battling all the (symptoms), but probably a little more positive, I would say, the last three weeks than I was earlier this year,” Woodland said. “I think I was getting down on myself just because I didn’t feel well. There’s a lot to be positive about because I’m in a different position than I was a year ago.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was in danger of missing the cut after opening with a 2-over 72. He fared better Friday, when he made four straight birdies amid a bogey-free 65 to get to 3 under for the week.
Notable players to miss the cut include Harris English (3 over), Camilo Villegas of Colombia (4 over) and Max Homa (7 over).
–Field Level Media
