2022 RBC Heritage points: Patrick Cantlay finishes strong to take a two-stroke lead after Round 2
FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay came through the last four holes on Friday with a 4 under 67 score and a two-stroke lead over Robert Streb halfway at RBC Heritage.
After returning to bogey on the 11th and 14th holes, Cantlay turned the corner on the hardest at Harbor Town Golf Links with a late birdie in a swirling high wind off Calibogue Sound.
Cantlay has a total score of 9 under 133.
Streb also has a 67. He appeared to have been in the lead at the weekend as he hit an 8 – his 17th hole of the day – hitting 7 under.
But Cantlay’s precise shots and hot volley brought him back to the top. The run began with a 13-foot birdie putt on day 15. He caught Streb a hole later with a 10-foot club. Cantlay made his tee shot on par-3 17 within eight feet of his birdie, then rolled 21 on par-4 on day 18.
“Obviously, it was a dream ending,” Cantlay said. “I’ve finally rolled some putts and it’s been really cool to see going into the weekend.”
Tour rookie Cameron Young went from an impressive debut at 63 on Thursday to 73 on his second stint around Harbor Town. However, it was good enough to take third place with Joel Dahmen, Cameron Tringale, Erik van Rooyen and Aaron Wise – three points behind Cantlay.
Dahmen, Tringale and van Rooyen have 67s to play against Cantley and Streb for the low half of the day. ring. Wise shot a 68.
Among the other six hits trailing in fifth are three-time major champion Jordan Spieth and past RBC winner Matt Kuchar. Spieth had 68, and Kuchar shot 69. Overall, it looked like a weekend shootout with 33 players within six shots of Cantlay.
Cantlay’s steady and minded golfing approach seems ready for Harbor Town. He’s got 2/3 and a seventh in four appearances here and earns $878,178.50 – and that’s missed the cut a year ago.
Cantlay is hoping for more wind and doesn’t expect to play much differently than he has done so far. “Just maintaining your play plan and continuing to keep the golf ball in the right position, being around this place is key,” he said.
Streb, who last won The RSM Classic in November 2020, had a bad experience at Harbor Town, missing four of his six career appearances. His best performance was the 44th draw in 2015.
“I haven’t played anything great in this place, so putting it in the wind is really good for me,” he said.
Young hit an unsuccessful 63 on Thursday on his course debut, the 24-year-old making Pete Dye’s dangerous layout look like a roadside pitch. Young continued to excel with the birdie on the first hole, the 10th hole, to hit a 9 under. Then he, like so many others before, felt the utter fury of Harbor Town.
Young had a bogey on the 14th, 15th and 18th holes, then a double bogey on the fourth par-3. However, this rookie is just one strong round to win his first tour.
“I feel like I’m hitting really well and every time I get a chance I have to put myself in the fairway, even if it’s more than 20 yards away, I think I’m going to take advantage of a lot of it,” Young said.
The wind, with gusts of more than 20 mph in the lap, had a significant impact. After only seven holes were evenly played on Thursday, 11 holes occurred on Friday.
Some of the top draws will not take place over the weekend.
South Carolina-born and world No. 9 Dustin Johnson went through 71-72 to shoot over 1 and fell 0-10 in the PGA Tour events he played in his home state.
Cameron Smith, who finished third last week at Augusta National, also finished in more than 1 to miss his first chance since the Sony Open in January. He shoots 73-70.
Morgan Hoffmann, in his first PGA Tour event since October 2019 due to his muscular dystrophy, also had a short hit, also finishing at No. 1 with rounds 71 and 72 .
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