GOLF
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson: Round 2 Friday tee times and pairings
Day two action at the TPC Craig Ranch in McKinney (Texas) gets underway on Friday with England’s Matt Wallace leading the way.
England’s Matt Wallace birdied five of his first six holes and cruised to an 8-under-par 63 to establish the first-round lead at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson on Thursday in McKinney, Texas.
Wallace ended his round with a birdie at the par-5 18th hole at TPC Craig Ranch and is one shot clear of seven players tied at 64, including Japanese phenom Taiga Semikawa who had a chance to tie the lead at the end of the night but endured a three-putt par at No. 18.
Also tied for second place are: Jake Knapp, Davis Riley, Chesson Hadley, Kelly Kraft, Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and Sweden’s Alex Noren.
Nine players had one or two holes left to play when darkness fell. They will finish their first rounds Friday morning.
Wallace, 34, has four career wins on the DP World Tour and one the PGA Tour at the 2023 Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic -- but he has yet to win on U.S. soil. This might be the week for that to change, as world No. 20 Jordan Spieth was the only top-20 golfer in the field in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb.
“Watching some of the best players in the world, and what I’m seeing from a lot of them, especially the younger guys, younger than me -- I’m not too old, but younger than me -- they’re so focused in their shot and not worrying about the outcome or what’s out there,” Wallace said. “That’s what I’m trying to do now. So this might be test No. 158 of me with a different round of golf.”
The 63 marked a career low on the PGA Tour for Wallace. His approaches were dialed in, as four of his first five birdie putts were from inside 3 feet.
Defending champion Jason Day of Australia is part of a large tie at 5-under 66.
Also making his PGA Tour debut was 16-year-old amateur Kris Kim of England, who chipped in for eagle from 67 feet away on his final hole (the par-5 ninth) to shoot a 3-under 68. He had a hectic round, with five birdies and four bogeys before that finishing flourish.