– Austin Smotherman (-11) has maintained and consolidated the lead at the Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches after the second round, thanks to a card of 69 strokes that is nothing like his 62 on Thursday, of course, but is more than decent on a challenging Champion course (PGA National, Palm Beach Gardens). His lead going into the third round is three strokes over his closest pursuer, Taylor Moore (-8), so he keeps this attempt of his to break into another dimension of top-level golf alive and well.
– Because this 31-year-old Californian blonde, who celebrates ten years as a professional this year and was a college teammate of Bryson DeChambeau at Southern Methodist University, has never won on the PGA Tour, nor has he ever finished second or third, but he is probably in the best moment of his career, after winning two tournaments last year on the Korn Ferry Tour, the circuit he has frequented the most.
– It surely won’t be easy for him this weekend in Florida, because there’s a lot at stake, besides the first victory on the best circuit in the world. For example, getting into a Signature Event for the first time, next week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. And also conquering the top 100 in the world for the first time. Or earning a place for the Masters and thus playing his first Major… It would be better for him to go stroke by stroke, hole by hole, without thinking too much about all this, because he has truly put himself in a position to give a radical turn to his professional career. Well, let’s say it all: these radical turns also need to be taken with some caution. There is the case of his closest pursuer, Taylor Moore, who three years ago was going to take the world by storm after winning the Valspar and who today fights to get back among the best… Smotherman comes from missing the cut in his last two appearances (Farmers and Phoenix), but he was also eighth at the American Express. We’ll see what face he shows this stormy weekend.
– The stormy part is literal, more than literary. Tomorrow, the start times for the third round are being moved up due to the forecast of storms in the area, so players will go out in groups of three and from both tees.
– The best score of the day belonged to young Canadian A. J. Ewart (-7), a 64 that has put him in the upper part of the leaderboard. Weren’t we talking about leaps to another dimension? Well, Ewart earned a spot on the PGA Tour a few months ago through the School and is barely playing his seventh tournament on this circuit… By the way, a 64 or something similar might be needed by Brooks Koepka (-2) to really get into the fight for the win. Tomorrow he starts nine strokes off the lead.
