Scoring opportunities around the Club at Chatham Hills remained ample in Round 2, and four players tied for the low round of the day. David Puig of Fireballs GC, Charles Howell III of Crushers GC, Adrian Meronk of Cleeks Golf Club and Carlos Ortiz of Torque GC shot 8-under 63s.
The race for the season-long Individual Championship between Niemann and Rahm remains highly contested through Saturday’s second round. Niemann shot a 5-under 66 and is tied for third place at 12-under par. Rahm shot a 7-under 64 and is tied for ninth, but he failed to make a move towards the current points leader. With Niemann near the top of the leaderboard, Rahm knows he might need to win the tournament to surpass his rival in the season standings.
“The goal tomorrow is hopefully come out and do what I did the first day and give myself a chance to win it all, but if not, I’m going to need some luck,” the Legion XIII Captain said.
With time running out for players currently in the projected Drop Zone to escape relegation, Saturday served as an opportunity to make birdies and climb up the leaderboard. The biggest move amongst players on the Drop Zone bubble was made by Henrik Stenson. The Majesticks GC co-captain backed up his Friday 66 with a 7-under 64 on Saturday. Stenson is currently in a tie for 3rd, which would place him comfortably in the Open Zone.
Stenson’s Majesticks GC teammates find themselves in a more dire position. Lee Westwood shot a 6-under 65 to move up to T19 on the leaderboard, but is still projected to finish 50th in the season-long standings and inside the Drop Zone. Ian Poulter shot a 5-under 66 to move up to T16 for the week, and projected 51st in the season-long standings. Both European golf legends will need to go low again on Sunday to escape relegation.
Round 2 played even easier than Rd.1 with a scoring average of –2.80 compared to Friday’s -2.48.
