Going into the weekend at the Valspar Championship, Adam Schenk was seven under 135, one stroke ahead of Kramer Hickok; Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Cody Gribble and Davis Riley are two behind Schenk after the first two laps
Last update: 03/18/23 00:13
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Highlights from day two of the Valspar Championship, taking place in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Highlights from day two of the Valspar Championship, taking place in Palm Harbor, Florida.
Adam Schenk scored under 69 to hold a one-stroke lead after the first two rounds of Valspar’s championship on Friday.
Schenk birdied four times, all but one inside 10 feet, and finished with a bogey from the bunker before 18 on the Copperhead course in Innisbrook.
After the 20-foot putt he made for par on the par-3 eighth, the 10-footer for par he made on the 10 and the long back and forth for par on the par-5 11, it didn’t bother him.
Adam Schenk exits the bunker (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
“I often feel like you… maybe shoot 2 cents and you’re like, ‘It could have been 6 or 7.’ But it really couldn’t have been better with the number of putts I’ve did,” he said.
He was 7-under 135, one shot ahead of Kramer Hickok, who had a 68.
Schenk is playing for his 10th straight week on the PGA Tour.
His work is even more focused this year as his wife is expecting their first child, a boy, in just over a month.
“Trying to make as many points as possible to take as much time as possible and spend time with him and my wife, which will be very special,” Schenk said.
Fleetwood plays in a bunker (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
He started his year in Honolulu at the Sony Open and hasn’t had a week off since then, going to California and Arizona, and every stop on the Florida swing. He had made the cut in all but two of them and is No. 72 in the FedEx Cup.
Last week’s missed cut to the Players Championship might have helped.
“I was home for 3 1/2 days and didn’t hit any clubs,” Schenk said. “I would have practiced, but the weather was so bad in Indiana, I really couldn’t. So, I went to Valspar on Tuesday afternoon and did a little practice, then I played nine holes and then we got into the pro-am and we went.”
Tommy Fleetwood was two shots behind the leader (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)
Jordan Spieth will be a big part of the weekend, losing a fair amount of drive with suspect short irons. He still posted a 70 and was only two strokes behind.
Tommy Fleetwood had a 69 and joined Spieth in the group two shots behind with Cody Gribble (65) and Davis Riley (68), who lost in the playoffs to Sam Burns at Innisbrook last year.
Burns, the two-time defending champion, is trying to become the first player to win the same tournament three consecutive years since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-11). He had a 73 and was seven strokes behind.
Justin Thomas had a 70 and was in the group at 3-under 139.
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