Jason Day got a bad break at his final hole of the day on Thursday.
The Harbour Town Golf Links paid him back on Friday and he’s one of the three 36-hole leaders at the RBC Heritage.
Day played the back nine first and his tee ball at the dangerous par three 14th looked as if it would be short and in the water hazard but it hit the railroad tie and bounced forward onto the green. Day would go on to shoot 69 in the early breezes and post six-under par.
By day’s end, he found himself tied at the top with Kevin Chappell and Charley Hoffman.
The heavy winds that were predicted for Friday failed to materialize. Day and the early players saw some gusty winds but the 30 mile-per-hour winds never showed.
“It was gusting, a good 20, then nothing,” Day said, describing the early challenges on the course. “I know you have to be patient. Just from tee to green, I hit it very good walking off with two-under par was nice.”
Chappell played in the morning and shot a second straight 68. Hoffman came in late in the day and had a chance for the solo lead. He was six-under coming to the easy, 330-yard ninth but he lost his drive well right and scrambled for a close par.
The week’s low round came from Russell Knox. He made eight birdies on his way to 65 and shot way past his simple goal. “I just wanted to shoot under par,” he said. He did far better than that and found himself at five-under par, a shot back with first-round leader Luke Donald, who could do no better than an even par 71.
One of the best turnarounds came from Jason Bohn, who is playing his first event after suffering a serious heart attack at the Honda Classic. He opened with 74 but a 69 on Friday got him back to one-over and in the field for the weekend.
The 36-hole cut came at 2-over par.
