Danny Willett and Max Homa sit on 12 under at the halfway stage, with Justin Lower and Byeong Hun An sharing third place; England’s Ben Taylor six back – watch the Fortinet Championship live on Saturday from 11pm on Sky Sports Golf
Last Updated: 17/09/22 7:33am
Danny Willett holds a share of the halfway lead in California
Danny Willett fired a round-of-the-day 64 to jump into a share of the halfway lead at the PGA Tour’s season-opening Fortinet Championship in California.
The eight-time DP World Tour winner, whose only victory in America came via a maiden major title at the 2016 Masters, carded eight birdies in a blemish-free second round at Silverado Resort and Spa to move to 12 under alongside defending champion Max Homa.
Willett holed from 25 feet at the par-three second and posted three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the sixth to reach the turn in 32, with the Englishman picking up shots at the 13th and 14th before finishing his impressive round with back-to-back birdies.
“The rough is hit and miss and with the greens being firm as they are, to go bogey free is really good,” Willett said. “Kind of a sign of where we’re at in terms of playability and where things are. A good two days’ work, but there’s still a lot of golf left.”
Homa, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour last season and a captain’s pick for the Presidents Cup next week, had an eagle and four birdies – including one from 40 feet – in his second-round 67, with his only bogey coming when he three-putted the par-three second.
Max Homa is hoping to make a successful title defence at the Fortinet Championship ahead of his Presidents Cup debut next week
“The course fits my eyes,” Homa said. “I hit a lot of wedges today and I’ve been hitting the wedges really well, so when I get a lot of wedges from fairways like these, I feel like I can attack the pins.”
The pair head into the weekend with a two-stroke cushion over first-round leader Justin Lower and South Korea’s Byeong Hun An in tied-third, while Matt Kuchar is four off the pace in tied-fifth with Taylor Moore and Sahith Theegala.
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England’s Ben Taylor is tied for 11th place following back-to-back 69s over the first two days, with PGA Tour rookie Thomas Detry of Belgium in the group on five under which also contains Rickie Fowler.
Hideki Matsuyama – among the International Team for next week’s Presidents Cup – is tied-42nd following a level-par 72, while team-mates Cam Davis and Corey Conners missed the cut.
Watch the Fortinet Championship throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 11pm on Sky Sports Golf.