Second Round of The CJ Cup @ Shadow Creek (Las Vegas)
Tournament Notes
Jason Kokrak, Tom Hoge and Tae Hee Lee will tee-it-up on No. 1 at Shadow Creek at 9:45am Friday morning (Vegas time) to start R-2.
Justin Thomas tweeted and IG that Shadow Creek might be “the best manicured course he’s ever played. It is PURE,” he wrote.
A reminder that both No. 1 Dustin Johnson and Tony Finau withdrew from The CJ Cup after positive tests for COVID-19. Finau’s +test came before the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last weekend.
First-Round Leaderboard
Tyrrell Hatton 65 (-7)
Russell Henley 66 (-6)
Xander Schauffele 66 (-6)
Tyler Duncan 67 (-5)
Jon Rahm 67 (-5)
Tip Your Hatton
Coming off a win at last week’s BMW Championship (England) on the European Tour, Hatton holds an 18-hole lead for his first time while playing on the PGA Tour. He fired a PGA Tour career low 65 at Shadow Creek and was smokin’ over his opening nine holes. Hatton, teeing-off on No. 10, was five under after his first five holes and six under after nine holes. That included an eagle on No. 12. He dropped a couple strokes over his last nine holes, bogeying No. 2 and No. 6.
More Notes on R1 at The CJ Cup
There were no bogey-free rounds on Thursday
Brooks Koepka made his first start since the Wyndham Championship (August 13-16) and recorded a 2-over (74). Koepka, who won this event in 2018, missed the last eight weeks of play while recuperating from injury (knee/hip).
Xander Schauffele (T-2) has not finished outside the top 25 in his last nine starts on the PGA Tour.
Si Woo Kim recorded a first-round 3-under (69), the best score among the 11 South Koreans in the field.
A previously “hot” Matthew Wolff shot an 8-over (80) and is in last place. Wolff tied for 2nd place last week at the Shriners and lost in a playoff to Martin Laird.
What They’re Saying
Hatton Leads despite Jet Lag (AP/ESPN (dot) com)
Koepka Details Injuries, but is Million Times Better (Golf Channel)
Koepka Opens with 74 (Golf Channel)
Rahm Recovers from Glove Mix-Up (PGA Tour (dot) com)
