Max Greyserman doesn’t know what it is about Japan, but his golf game seems to like this part of the world. A year after finishing T-2 at this event, the World No. 39 followed up an opening-round 67 with a blemish-free 8-under 63. With just 36 holes to go and sitting at 12 under, Greyserman is four shots clear of three players, a group that includes Xander Schauffele.
“I’m not sure. That’s a good question,” Greyserman said when asked why Japan seems to bring out the best in him. “I played well here last year, playing well this year so far. Yeah, I just like playing here. The courses are good, the crowds are good, people are very respectful. It’s probably good that when I hit it to 20, 30 feet, people clap, because otherwise I kind of get upset with myself. So I think it’s good mojo, good mentality to have. Again, just really respectful fans and I enjoy playing in front of them.”
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Starting on the back nine, Greyserman birdied three of his first four holes and made the turn with a 3-under 32. On his way back to the clubhouse, he made three more birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fourth.
The 30-year-old is still searching for his first PGA TOUR win, and when asked how his past experiences will help him get it over the finish line this time around, he took a page out of Kobe Bryant’s playbook.
“Job’s not finished…so put on the gas, keep trying to make as many birdies as possible, try to get to as low a possible score as I can,” Greyserman said. “Obviously I saw walking into scoring that it’s maybe a three-, four-shot lead, something like that, but that doesn’t really matter. I’m going to go out there with the mentality of trying to shoot the lowest score possible.”
Schauffele shot a bogey-free 63 of his own thanks to some great iron play—11th in Strokes Gained: Approach—and a good day on the greens—10th in SG: Putting. The World No. 4 hasn’t won since The Open in 2024, and hopes he can regain some confidence and flow this fall after his season was hindered by a rib injury.
“Confidence is kind of the biggest thing,” Schauffele said. “Every TOUR pro knows there’s times when you’re playing well and things are flowing, and you don’t really think a whole lot about your swing or technical things at all. Just trying to get back to a little bit more of that the rest of this year and the new year.”
Alex Noren and Alex Smalley are the other two players tied for second at 8 under, while Sahith Theegala is part of a four-way tie for fifth at 7 under.
For the night owls: third-round coverage starts at 11 p.m. ET Friday night.
