VIKTOR HOVLAND BIRDIED five of the last seven holes to share the lead with Collin Morikawa after the second round of the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship.
Hovland — who won last week’s BMW Championship — and Morikawa each fired a six-under par 64 to move to 16-under at East Lake.
Morikawa closed with back-to-back birdies, sinking putts from 10 feet at 17 and two feet at the par-five 18th, and is the only player without a bogey so far this week.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was third on 14-under after a 65, with Keegan Bradley fourth on 13-under after a 67.
Jon Rahm (65) and Xander Schauffele (64) share fifth on 12-under, while defending champion Rory McIlroy, who is battling a back injury, shot 67 on Friday and sits seventh on 10-under.
Starting scores in the FedEx Cup playoff finale were staggered based on season points, with top-ranked Scheffler at 10-under, Hovland next at 8-under and other rivals at lesser levels.
The winner takes home a €16.5 million ($18m) bonus playoff top prize.
