Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre opened up a four-shot lead at the midway point of the Valero Texas Open on Friday at TPC San Antonio’s Oaks Course.
MacIntyre shot the round of the week so far, an 8-under-par 64, to climb to 14-under 130 through two rounds. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg is his closest competitor after he shot a second consecutive 67 to get to 10 under par.
Bud Cauley (second-round 66), Kevin Roy (68), Tony Finau (69) and Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen (66) are tied for third at 9 under.
MacIntyre started on the back nine and went 4 under through a three-hole stretch at Nos. 14-16. He set himself up for an 8-foot eagle putt at the par-5 14th, then knocked in two more putts inside 8 feet for birdies at the next two holes.
The World No. 11 finished his round with four birdies on the final five holes. He made just one bogey against seven birdies.
Asked what was working for him Friday, MacIntyre was frank.
“Yeah, everything,” MacIntyre said. “I mean, I’ve been driving the ball nice. Got a new Titleist driver in the bag. Iron play today was exceptional I would say. Hit a pure wedge shot on 17, I thought it was absolutely dynamite there. Approach play, hitting the number, hitting the targets. Got to finish off with good putting. Overall, just really solid.”
MacIntyre and Aberg were part of the same group in the first two rounds.
“We’re good friends obviously from the Ryder Cup and stuff. We get on really well,” MacIntyre said. “It’s good to play with good players and you can kind of build in a round. It was good to see him play well, and obviously myself.”
To wit, Aberg had a near-spotless outing until he bogeyed his final hole, the par-4 ninth. After making four birdies over his first 14 holes, Aberg had a 120-yard approach shot at No. 13, a par-4. His ball took two hops and dropped for an eagle.
“For me, golf is about putting yourself in situations where you can win tournaments,” Aberg said. “I feel like I haven’t really done that very well the last 12 months or so, but starting to see it now, which has been really nice. Starting to get back into that level, which is really nice for me to see. So I’m looking forward to one more shot at it this week.”
While MacIntyre and Aberg are each seeking a third PGA Tour win, Finau is vying for his seventh. The difference is he hasn’t triumphed since April 2023, and he has yet to be invited to next week’s Masters — something only a victory in Texas can change.
Finau ended his round with a bang, sinking a 34 1/2-foot eagle putt at the par-5 18th. He made an even longer eagle putt at No. 14 on Thursday, from 41 1/2 feet.
“It was nice to make an eagle on the last,” Finau said Friday. “I hit a really good drive, pushed my second shot a little, got lucky, covered the water and was able to roll that one in. Sometimes those are the small little breaks that you need to be towards the top of the leaderboard.”
When play was suspended due to darkness Friday evening, only one player remained on the course. Luke Clanton’s playing partners chose to play their final hole, No. 9, but Clanton will return Saturday morning to complete his round. He sits on the cut line at 2 under par and needs par or better to make the weekend.
Jordan Spieth shot consecutive 71s to sit at 2 under. Mark Hubbard, the first-round leader following a 7-under 65, stumbled to a 77 Friday and will also make the cut right on the number.
Those on the wrong side include Russell Henley (1 under), Max Homa (1 under), South Korea’s Tom Kim (even), Austria’s Sepp Straka (even), Rickie Fowler (1 over) and France’s Matthieu Pavon (4 over).
–Field Level Media
