ATLANTA – Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns are best buddies. They are road roommates, practice-round partners and enjoy bible study together on the PGA Tour. On Friday, Burns predicted Scheffler would go hole hunting with his second shot from a fairway bunker at No. 13 at East Lake Golf Club. When Scheffler hit a rare poor shot, a one-handed finish that found a plugged lie in the sand, Burns, speaking with Kevin Kisner and Smiley Kaufman on NBC cracked, “This guy is terrible.”
So terrible that he made just his second bogey of the week at that hole and posted a 5-under 66 to improve to 21 under after two rounds at the Tour Championship.
But after he finished his round, Burns was more realistic. “I need to make a lot of birdies. He’s the best golfer on the planet. He’s really good with leads. It’s not a great thing for us,” he said.
Asked if he thought there was a chance Scheffler might back up over the weekend, Burns didn’t hesitate.
“I am not expecting him to come back in the slightest,” he said. “Somebody is going to have to go chase him down. I think if you drive the ball well around here, get yourself in position enough and you have a good day with the irons and make some putts, I think a low score is to be had.”
During Friday’s second round, which included a late-afternoon weather delay of one hour and 33 minutes, Collin Morikawa did just that, posting 63 to cut Scheffler’s lead from seven after the first round down to four and Xander Schauffele is lurking five back.
Cancel the coronation for Sunday? Not yet. But after 36 holes, we’re saying there’s a chance it won’t be a blow out.
Here are five things to know after the second round of the 30-man Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup finale, where $100 million in bonus money will be doled out and the winner will bank a cool $25 million.
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