Tony Finau shot 2-under 68 Friday to stay firmly in the mix entering the weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Finau raced to the top of the leaderboard with an opening-round 64 and kept it going in Round 2 with three birdies and one bogey. The 29-year-old is still idling at one PGA Tour win, the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, but continues to knock on the door after a T-5 finish at the Masters.
He’s 8 under for the week and trails Sweden’s Jonas Blixt by one shot. Blixt carded a bogey-free, 6-under 64 Friday morning, including a 131-yard hole-out for eagle at the par-4 17th.
The 35-year-old has three PGA Tour wins, including the 2017 team-format Zurich Classic, and is looking for his first solo victory since 2013 Greenbrier. The Zurich Classic represents his only top-10 finish over the past three seasons, and Blixt said Friday he’s learning to appreciate weeks like this more than he did when he first arrived on Tour.
“You’re so young and dumb sometimes,” Blixt said. “Getting a little older, you experience a lot more things. You start to appreciate some things you went through when you had some success as a youngster.”
Jordan Spieth fell off pace after a strong opening round and shot even-par 70 Friday with five birdies and five bogeys. He’s coming off his most promising start since the 2018 Masters after last week’s T-3 finish at the PGA Championship at Bethpage.
Kevin Na shot the low round of the day with an 8-under 62 and sits T-2 alongside Finau at 8 under for the week. Na has four top-10 finishes in 11 career starts at Colonial Country Club and said this course suits his game better than most of the bomber-friendly layouts on Tour these days.
“Some golf courses I feel like I have no chance,” Na said. “I don’t play those unless it’s a major and I got no choice. I won’t mention any names.”
Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele, both of whom missed the cut by a stroke, are among the big names who won’t be around for the weekend. Fowler entered the week with the Tour’s second-longest streak of 21 consecutive cuts made. Jon Rahm also missed the cut after a 1-over 71 Friday.