Taylor Moore retained a share of the lead at the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a tightly packed crowd on his heels at Detroit Golf Club.
Canada’s Taylor Pendrith shot a second-round 64 to pull even with Moore on Friday afternoon in a redemption run at the event following a runner-up finish in 2022.
Moore and Pendrith are 13-under after 36 holes and first-round co-leader, qualifier Peter Kuest, kept himself in contention but dropped to a tie for ninth with a bogey on his final hole (No. 9) Friday at 9-under for the tournament.
“You’ve got to keep making birdies, or you’re going to get lapped out there,” Pendrith said. “I’ve got to take care of the par-5s a little bit better. They’re all super gettable.”
Moore, who finished sixth in Detroit in 2022, bogeyed a pair of par-4s (No. 8, 16) but hit the clubhouse with a second-round 67 and the outright lead only to watch the afternoon wave turn into a mad surge from Pendrith, Rickie Fowler and Justin Lower.
“I really haven’t felt like I’ve been that far off and haven’t made a cut in a couple weeks,” said Moore of his first lead or co-lead through 36 holes.
Starting on the back nine Friday, Pendrith was 10-under for the tournament through nine holes and consistently climbed closer to Moore. Standing 14th through 18 holes Thursday, Pendrith made consecutive birdies on the third and fourth holes to pull even at 13-under and forward his strong play in Detroit. He was 21-under in 2022 and now has five rounds of 66 or better in his past six at Detroit Golf Club.
“The experience I had last year, coming so close,” Pendrith said of repeating the 36-hole lead in Detroit. “To be right back in position with a chance coming into Saturday, it would be unreal, it would be amazing (to get his first career Tour win).”
Fowler carded a 65 on Friday to settle into a third-place tie, one clear of Lower, Collin Morikawa and others tied for fifth at 11-under. He’s chasing his first victory since 2019 but said he knows he can win.
“How I’ve played is some of the best, if not the best, I’ve felt about my game and on the course really ever,” Fowler said.
Lower jumped 20 spots during Friday’s bogey-free 18 thanks to a 32 on his first nine on the way to a 65.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg (67 Friday) rolled in birdies on 16 and 17 to grab a share of third place
Fowler climbed to within one shot of the lead with a 26-foot chip from just off the green for eagle at No. 17, erasing a bogey on the previous that ended a stretch of three birdies in four holes. He’s 12-under entering the third round.
American Andrew Landry jumped 74 spots on Day 2 with the Friday’s low round, tying the course record of 63 and settling at 9-under for the round. He’s tied with Kuest, Dylan Wu (69), Britain’s Cam Davis, who shot a 7-under 65 Friday, Canadian Adam Hadwin (68) and Austrian Sepp Straka (66). Straka shot 33 on both sides in the second round with seven birdies.
Defending champion Tony Finau missed the cut and was 1-under for the tournament. Sam Bennett tumbled from third place with two double-bogeys, was 83rd and on the wrong side of cut line when he teed off on the par-4, 18th following a bogey at 16.
But he birdied to sneak into the weekend.
–Field Level Media
