SHANE LOWRY AND Seamus Power both climbed up the leaderboard with second-round 67s at the PGA Tour Cognizant Classic on Friday.
Lowry is six shots off the lead held by American leader, Austin Smotherman, as he finishes his round. Smotherman is 11-under thru 16 at the time of writing, with countryman Taylor Moore next in line on eight-under par for the tournament after another 67.
Lowry is currently in a share of sixth on five-under, while Power is a shot further back at Palm Beach Gardens.
Power had his short game to thank, with five birdies and just a single bogey on his card following the morning wave.
Lowry, meanwhile, shot six birdies and two bogeys after teeing off later. The Offaly man birdied holes two and three and capped a steady front nine by picking up another shot on the turn.
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He birdied the 10th and 13th before dropping his first shot of the day on the 14th. Another bogey followed on the penultimate 17th before rounding off with another birdie.
Power opened with a 22-footer for birdie at the first, and hit the turn in two-under after holing another 20-foot birdie on the eighth.
The Waterford native then clicked into gear with a run of three birdies in four holes across 10, 11 and 13 to move to five-under par for the tournament.
The only blemish on his card came at the par-three 17th where he found water off the tee but escaped with nothing worse than a bogey.
“Honestly, I’m not actually playing brilliant,” Power said afterwards.
“But the short game has been excellent, scrambling, really hanging in there well, making some putts. If I can get something figured out over the weekend…
“But it’s a tough golf course. It doesn’t let you get comfortable really at any stage, and I think that’s unique about this place. Even holes that just don’t seem that tough on the scorecard, if you’ve got a crosswind and you’ve got this and you’ve got that and you just miss it, it’s very, very tricky.
“It’s a really good layout for that. It’s going to test everyone for the next two and a half days. But it’s nice to be in under par, and two more good rounds over the weekend needed, but obviously it’s nice to be in there.”
Power, who made over 120ft of putts in Friday’s round, added: “I’ve been putting much, much better. Last couple years, [I've] been a little bit cold on the greens, which is unusual for me.
“[I've] got a bit of confidence back on the greens. Hitting it okay – still not where I want, but at least I know where it’s going so I can manage it.
“I’m not dropping too many shots, where on holes if there’s trouble on one side, I’m able to at least know how to keep it down the other side. I think that helps here.
“But obviously making a few putts is huge. It was nice to get under par like on the first, and then even getting that one on the eighth.
“This golf course is… I know it’s an obvious thing to say, but it’s easier to play from under par and it’s easier to be conservative when you need to be.
“All in all, a lot of good stuff. Some things to tidy up, but overall a good spot after two days.”
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Lowry and Power climb the leaderboard with second-round 67s at Cognizant Classic
LAST UPDATE | 27 Feb
SHANE LOWRY AND Seamus Power both climbed up the leaderboard with second-round 67s at the PGA Tour Cognizant Classic on Friday.
Lowry is six shots off the lead held by American leader, Austin Smotherman, as he finishes his round. Smotherman is 11-under thru 16 at the time of writing, with countryman Taylor Moore next in line on eight-under par for the tournament after another 67.
Lowry is currently in a share of sixth on five-under, while Power is a shot further back at Palm Beach Gardens.
See the latest leaderboard here >
Power had his short game to thank, with five birdies and just a single bogey on his card following the morning wave.
Lowry, meanwhile, shot six birdies and two bogeys after teeing off later. The Offaly man birdied holes two and three and capped a steady front nine by picking up another shot on the turn.
He birdied the 10th and 13th before dropping his first shot of the day on the 14th. Another bogey followed on the penultimate 17th before rounding off with another birdie.
Power opened with a 22-footer for birdie at the first, and hit the turn in two-under after holing another 20-foot birdie on the eighth.
The Waterford native then clicked into gear with a run of three birdies in four holes across 10, 11 and 13 to move to five-under par for the tournament.
The only blemish on his card came at the par-three 17th where he found water off the tee but escaped with nothing worse than a bogey.
“Honestly, I’m not actually playing brilliant,” Power said afterwards.
“But it’s a tough golf course. It doesn’t let you get comfortable really at any stage, and I think that’s unique about this place. Even holes that just don’t seem that tough on the scorecard, if you’ve got a crosswind and you’ve got this and you’ve got that and you just miss it, it’s very, very tricky.
“It’s a really good layout for that. It’s going to test everyone for the next two and a half days. But it’s nice to be in under par, and two more good rounds over the weekend needed, but obviously it’s nice to be in there.”
Power, who made over 120ft of putts in Friday’s round, added: “I’ve been putting much, much better. Last couple years, [I've] been a little bit cold on the greens, which is unusual for me.
“[I've] got a bit of confidence back on the greens. Hitting it okay – still not where I want, but at least I know where it’s going so I can manage it.
“I’m not dropping too many shots, where on holes if there’s trouble on one side, I’m able to at least know how to keep it down the other side. I think that helps here.
“But obviously making a few putts is huge. It was nice to get under par like on the first, and then even getting that one on the eighth.
“All in all, a lot of good stuff. Some things to tidy up, but overall a good spot after two days.”
- Updated 10.45pm
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