Avondale, LA — Windham Clarke and Bo Hossler shot a 5-under 67 on alternating plays on Friday to preserve their lead going into the second round of the Zurich Classic.
Defensive tackles Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele made the biggest move of the day, coming out on top with a 9-under 63—the best score of the round by three strokes. They were at 14-under 130 through 36 holes, two shots behind Clark and Hossler.
Hossler made a nearly 60-foot birdie putt on the par-4 hole to highlight his team’s bogey-free round at TPC Louisiana.
“It was a fairly stress-free tour,” said Hossler. “Except for the long putt in 4, I think we didn’t do anything crazy, but we also didn’t make any mistakes. It was a really clean run.”
Three of the five birdies by Clark and Haussler were even par after hitting or narrowly missing on two. The final jumper came shortly after a delay of 2 hours and 28 minutes due to rain and lightning.
While 29-year-old Clark and 28-year-old Hossler have yet to win a PGA Tour between them, both have had several top 20 finishes this season. Clarke finished 5th in the Valspar Championship. Hossler tied for eleventh in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
“We’re in a great place,” Hossler said. “I like our mentality.”
Cantlay and Schauffele looked more absorbed than they did during a sloppy 5-under first round Thursday marred by three bogeys in better ballplay.
They opened a more challenging second round of alternate shots on the 10th hole and shot four of their first seven. They par-5 eagle 18, created by the towering Schauffele, 264-yard hybrid and which settled less than 15 feet from the hole. Cantlay drained the putt, giving the pair a 6-under 30 on the turn—a tournament record for nine holes on an alternate putt.
“We needed to be aggressive here in turns, which is a little dangerous,” Schavelli said. “It was just necessary.”
They added birdies on the first, second, and fifth holes.
They also made a par save after Cantlay driving a right of the buggy course on the par-4 sixth left dogleg around the water that ranks as the course’s #1 handicap hole. Schauffele hit a low shot among a group of young cypress trees that emptied and settled just behind the left side of the green. From there, Cantlay splits within two feet.
The team of Sam Ryder, Doc Redman, Sungjae Im, and Keith Mitchell finished the day tied for second at 15-under.
Ryder and Redman parred six holes for a 6-under par 66 tied for second-best score on the tour.
Em and Mitchell recovered from a double bogey at number 6, as Mitchell hit the tee shot into the water, fishing six of the last 12 holes for a 67.
Sean O’Hare and Brandon Matthews, who started the day tied for first, moved back into a tie for fourth with Cantlay-Schevelle’s team and three others. O’Hare and Matthews shot 69.
The cut was at 10 less, meaning that all of the remaining 35 teams scheduled to play in Saturday’s Best Ball third round were within six shots of each other. The final round is an alternate shot.
The most famous player to miss the cut was two-time major winner Colin Morikawa and six-time PGA Tour winner. They shot 2-under 70 to finish at 8-under.