Stewart Cink made a terrific escape from the pine straw for an unlikely birdie and had a 4-under 67 that gave him a five-way share of the lead Friday within the Valspar Championship and an opportunity to entertain ideas of profitable for the second straight event.
There’s only one distinction for Cink. The golf course is so much longer. And the fellows he’s making an attempt to beat are so much youthful.
The 50-year-old Cink, who blew an opportunity to win on the PGA Tour Champions two weeks in the past with a back-nine meltdown, appeared regular on a day of fifty kilometre-per-hour gusts within the morning, some wind within the afternoon however not near the nasty climate anticipated at Innisbrook in Palm Harbor, Fla.
He was tied at 6-under 136 with Mackenzie Hughes (68) of Hamilton, Kevin Streelman (72), tour rookie Chandler Phillips (68), Brendon Todd (69).
WATCH l Canada’s Hughes tied for lead, Svensson 2 pictures again:
Dundas, Ont., native Mackenzie Hughes is tied for the lead with 4 different golfers on the Valspar Championship that had its second spherical suspended as a result of darkness. Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., sits two pictures behind the leaders at 4-under.
“There is a motive that so many gamers rave about this course,” Cink stated. “It requires every part, and to date this week I’ve performed every part pretty nicely.”
Everybody confronted varied circumstances, although Streelman and Phillips received the harder finish of the draw with wind bending pine branches and snapping pant legs. A minimum of it was in a single course, not the scary, swirling nature within the afternoon.
“This place is hard even in good climate,” Streelman stated.
Justin Thomas was poised to affix the log jam on the prime till he badly missed the 18th inexperienced to the correct in a tricky lie within the bunker and made bogey for a 69, leaving him within the group one shot behind that included Lucas Glover (69).
“I believe we received very fortunate with the climate,” Thomas stated. “I do know these guys had lots of wind this morning, we had some this afternoon, it simply was very gusty and it made that again 9 very difficult.”
Leaderboard when Spherical 2 was suspended <a href=”https://twitter.com/ValsparChamp?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@ValsparChamp</a>:<br><br>T1. <a href=”https://twitter.com/Streels54?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@Streels54</a> -6<br>T1. <a href=”https://twitter.com/ChandlerPhilli6?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@ChandlerPhilli6</a> <br>T1. <a href=”https://twitter.com/stewartcink?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@StewartCink</a> <br>T1. Brendon Todd<br>T1. <a href=”https://twitter.com/MacHughesGolf?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@MacHughesGolf</a> <br>T6. <a href=”https://twitter.com/PeterMalnati?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@PeterMalnati</a> -5<br>T6. Lucas Glover<br>T6. <a href=”https://twitter.com/JustinThomas34?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@JustinThomas34</a> <br>T6. Seamus Energy<br>T6. <a href=”https://twitter.com/stallingsgolf?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@StallingsGolf</a> <br>T6. <a href=”https://twitter.com/Mike_kim714?ref_src=twsrcpercent5Etfw”>@Mike_Kim714</a> <br>T6.… <a href=”https://t.co/yPU9blSbVP”>pic.twitter.com/yPU9blSbVP</a>
—@PGATOUR
He stated he misplaced give attention to his 8-iron from the 18th fairway — “a foul time to have the worst shot of the event to date,” he stated — however had no complaints about his place going into the weekend on the Copperhead course.
The reduce will not be official till Saturday morning with a few dozen gamers failing to complete earlier than darkness, however one factor was clear — this event was vast open. Solely six pictures separated the gamers sharing the result in the gamers making the reduce on the quantity.
Remainder of Canadian contingent
Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., is tied for fifteenth at 4 underneath, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for twenty first at 3 underneath, Roger Sloan of Calgary is tied for fortieth at 1 underneath, and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford is tied for 57th at even par
The reduce was set at even-par 142, sending dwelling an All-Star forged from a event that did not have all that many within the first place — Jordan Spieth, two-time Innisbrook winner Sam Burns, British Open champion Brian Harman, Tony Finau and Keegan Bradley all missed the reduce.
For Spieth, it was the primary time since 2017 that he missed the reduce at common PGA Tour occasions in consecutive weeks (Gamers Championship, Byron Nelson).
Not one of the gamers who share the lead are within the Masters — a win would handle that — and Todd is finest positioned to at the least attempt to get into the highest 50 after subsequent week to earn his method again to Augusta Nationwide.
Todd was most happy that he had an excellent perspective on Thursday in sunshine, understanding Friday could be harder. It was all of that for nearly everybody.
Cink, who just lately grew to become a grandfather, continues to be irritated by taking part in the ultimate six holes in 5 over — together with a triple bogey — on the Cologuard Traditional in Arizona two weeks in the past on the PGA Tour Champions.
“Being in competition feels the identical method regardless of the place you might be, to be sincere,” he stated. “Clearly, the sphere is slightly totally different right here at Valspar than it was the final time I teed it up at Cologuard in Tucson. However it nonetheless feels the identical and I did not have an excellent end there. … I ought to have gained the event and I did not end it off. I had slightly little bit of a meltdown.
“So I am simply thrilled to be proper again on the prime of the leaderboard,” he stated. “I get one other likelihood to study some actually nice classes and perhaps some onerous classes this week once more.”