Birdies were flying in Vegas on Friday, even as the winds picked up, scores were great on Friday. The second straight year the tournament featured a cut well under par, this year settling in at five under, knocking out a ton of big names with it.
PGA DFS Showdown Picks: Shriners Open Round 3
Morning Wave
Brooks Koepka birdied three of his first five holes, but couldn’t continue his play, or keep up with the hottest golfer in the world Sam Burns. Burns shot 63 on Friday, gaining another 4.45 strokes from tee to green. Matthew Wolff was the first to clip Sung Kang of his lead, getting it to 11 under, before making triple on the third hole.
Another trio of under-the-radar names moved up the leaderboard in round two including Adam Hadwin, Andrew Putnam and Olympic Silver Medalist Rory Sabbatini all getting it to ten under just four back of the Friday leaders.
Afternoon Wave
Wind was expected to pick up in the afternoon, but not enough to hold down Sungjae Im and Chad Ramey, both shot their seconds straight solid round, and hole the 36 hole lead at fourteen under. For Im, he’s gained in all four strokes gained categories in both rounds, while Ramey only lost slightly around the green in round two. Aaron Wise shot a nine-under 62, the day’s best score.
Notables
A bunch of big names came to their last hole needed a birdie to make the cut including Webb Simpson, Maverick McNealy and Jason Kokrak. Rickie Fowler also missed a few putts on his back nine, before missing the cut by one. Louis Oosthuizen continued his strong play in round two, on the heels of a solid day ball striking, gaining two strokes.
Round 2 Stat Recap
Strokes Gained Tee to Green
- Talor Gooch
- Sam Burns
- Sungjae Im
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Harry Higgs
Strokes Gained Off the Tee
- Harri Higgs
- Brooks Koepka
- Cameron Davis
- Trey Munnlizx
- Harry Hall
Strokes Gained on Approach
- Talor Gooch
- Russell Henley
- Charley Hoffman
- Adam Schenk
- Viktor Hovland
Strokes Gained Around the Green
- Jonas Blixt
- Danny Willett
- Henrik Norlander
- Talor Gooch
- Wyndham Clark
Strokes Gained Putting
- Chad Ramey
- Taylor Moore
- Adam Schenk
- Andrew Putnam
- Robert Streb
Shriners Open Round 2 DraftKings Slate Preview
- Lock Time: 9:50 a.m. ET
- Grand Prize: DraftKings offers $20,000 to first place and $60,000 guaranteed for the second-round slate.
PGA DFS DraftKings Showdown Picks
The poorest of the weather came in today, with no problems expected over the next two. Golfers teeing off in the morning have had the better scores the last two days, providing a chance to those that made the cut to get back into the event.
- Louis Oosthuizen ($9,500) has been close over the last year, but has failed to get himself into the winner’s circle in all the times he’s been near the top. His consistent ball striking topped with his superb putting gave him plenty of chances, that ultimately fell short. His putter hasn’t fully woke up this week, but his ball-striking sure is in form, showing the ceiling is quite high if the flat stick starts to roll in round 3.
- Charley Hoffman ($8,300) seems to be in fine form with his approach game right now. He’s gained four strokes over the first two rounds. while losing slightly off the tee. If he can find a few more fairways and put himself in even better spots, he could climb the leaderboard in a hurry over the weekend with how good his putting and approach game is.
- Aaron Wise ($7,700) maybe an obvious play, but he is in form. Sure the climax may have been the nine under 62 shot on Friday, but even a 66 at this salary would pay off again in the third round. He’s only struggled on Sunday lately, so might as well jump on him before his price skyrockets for the final round.
- Talor Gooch ($7,600) looks superb tee to green through two rounds, but the putter just hasn’t caught up yet. This week, Burns trail Gooch in the tee to green department through two rounds, as Gooch gained seven over the first two rounds, while losing strokes off the tee. If that clears up over the weekend, his irons should sign, and now it all comes down to his putter.
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