Memphis (USA), Aug 17 (IANS): Japan's Hideki Matsuyama carded a stellar 6-under 64 to share the second-round lead at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Friday as he chased his first FedExCup Playoffs event victory.
Matsuyama, the bronze medallist at the Paris Olympics, remained in fine form at TPC Southwind in Memphis as he carded seven birdies against a single bogey to reach the halfway mark at 11-under 129. He is tied with American Denny McCarthy, who fired a 63 featuring nine birdies.
Aaron Rai, the Indo-British golfer from Wolverhampton who recently won his maiden title on the PGA Tour, shot 66 to get to 5-under and was T-13, while Indian American golfers, Akshay Bhatia (69-68) at 3-under, and Sahith Theegala (70-69) at 1-under were T-27 and T-42 respectively.
Matsuyama’s total of 129 marks his lowest 36-hole score on TOUR, bettering the 130 he posted at the 2018 BMW Championship and 2016 Wyndham Championship.
With the weekend rounds ahead, Matsuyama and McCarthy hold a one-shot advantage over Sam Burns (63), while FedExCup leader and Paris Olympic Games gold medalist Scottie Scheffler is a further shot back following a solid 65.
It will be a tight finish with World No. 1 Scheffler well placed at two behind Matsuyama and McCarthy.
Korea's Tom Kim mounted an impressive comeback, rebounding from an opening 71 with a bogey-free 64. This vaulted him into a tie for 13th at 5-under. However, his compatriots faced tough challenges – Byeong Hun An and Sungjae Im battled to matching 70s which left them tied for 42nd on 1-under.
Matsuyama, who is playing this week with a stand-in caddie, continued to display exceptional ball-striking and putting, sinking lengthy putts of 26 feet, 17 feet, and 33 feet on Hole Nos. 6, 9, and 11 respectively. His other four birdies came from within eight feet.
The stellar form extended Matsuyama's streak to 12 consecutive rounds of par or better, currently the longest active streak on TOUR. The nine-time PGA Tour winner aims to capitalise on his good run of form where a victory this week could propel him to third place in the FedExCup points list ahead of the BMW Championship which is limited to the top 50.
Starting in third place at the Playoffs finale, the TOUR Championship at East Lake, Atlanta in two weeks will see him start three back of runaway leader Scheffler, who has won six times on TOUR this season.