Jon Rahm finds comfort zone at CJ Cup, sets Congaree course record

Saturday is “moving day” in PGA Tour tournaments. If past is prelude, expect wild swings on the scoreboard in the CJ Cup in South Carolina at Congaree Golf Club.

Birdies have been plentiful over the tournament’s first two days, and Saturday’s third round — with scoring conditions expected to still be ideal — promises an encore.

Examples: An afterthought after a pedestrian even-par 71 in Thursday’s first round, world’s No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened Friday’s play with four-straight birdies. Jon Rahm ripped off four-straight birdies and five over a six-hole stretch. K.H. Lee and Cam Davis swapped the lead with three consecutive birdies each and, well, those making pars are getting left behind.

By day’s end, Rahm had set the course record with a 9-under-par 62 and shared the halfway lead with Kurt Kitayama at 11-under 131.

What next? Look at some of the possibilities:

Can Rahm’s Streak Continue?

Putting together consecutive rounds is challenging, but Rahm, who won the Spanish Open in his last start two weeks ago, said he found his comfort zone in the second round.

“(Thursday) was one of those days where I just couldn’t seem to find the center of the club face,” he said. “Lines were good, but I wasn’t truly comfortable and it’s hard to score that way even though I finished really, really strong.”

He called his putting and iron play the difference, and only a finishing bogey kept him from the solo lead.

Cam Davis at Home?

The Congaree GC layout has been equated to courses on the Australian sand-belt, especially prestigious Royal Melbourne. And Cam Davis, at 10-under-par 132 after two rounds, is from Australia.

So ... does Davis go into the weekend with a “home-course” advantage?

“I hit a couple of loose iron shots, but I recovered pretty well today,” he said after his second 5-under 66. “If I can just keep doing this, it’s going to be an enjoyable rest of the week.”

Does Experience Matter?

Tyrrell Hatton, 29th in the world ranking, had one edge over some player this week: He played in the PGA Tour’s previous tournament at Congaree GC, the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June 2021.

In that tournament, he finished in a tie for second place, one shot out of a playoff, at 10-under-par 274.

After his 3-under 68 on Friday, the Englishman is at 7-under 135 and feels good about his game.

“The good stuff is really good,” he said. “I didn’t drive the ball particularly well today, so I kind of hope that’s the bad round out of the way. ... If the irons stay good, we’re going to have chances.”

Which Way Rory?

With the possibility of climbing to No. 1 in the world ranking again, Rory McIlroy opened with a 5-under-par 66. But he started slowly Friday, failed to birdie the par-5 2nd or the drivable par-4 3rd and made the turn at one over for the day — and off the first page of the leaderboard.

But Rory is Rory, and he dropped a 32-foot bomb for birdie on the 10th hold. Then he came within a whisker of a double-eagle on the par-5 12th with a 347-yard drive and a 226-yard second that barely missed going in for a deuce.

He missed the 13-foot putt for eagle, but just that quickly returned to the top 10.

There’s more. He birdied the 13th with a 16-foot putt from the fringe after driving into a waste bunker. The birdie spree continued with five in all on the back nine for a 67. He’s tied for third, two shots off the pace at 133.

“Not poor shots but just missing on the wrong side” of the holes, he said of bogeys on Nos. 6 and 8. “I just didn’t take advantage of the first five holes.”

Putting to the Top

Kurt Kitayama, a Californian who played at UNLV, rolled in more than 100 feet of putts in a first-round 66 and continued the trend Friday, posting a 6-under 65 for a total of 11-under 131 to share the lead.

“Making putts stuck out because I feel like I haven’t been putting very well,” he said. “To finally make some is nice.”

Even better is not to need the putter on hole. On the par-5th , he put his second shot in the greenside bunker — and holed the shot from the sand.

“Yeah,” he said with a smile. “It was rolling pretty hot. But it was dead center.”

Saturday’s Television

Saturday’s TV coverage on the Golf Channel and streaming the Peacock network runs from 3-6 p.m.

Radio coverage runs from noon until 6 p.m. on SiriusXM channel 92.

The first Round 3 tee times are at 7:55 a.m. Aaron Wise, Rory McIlroy and Lee Hodges tee off at 12:58 p.m. Kurt Kitayama, Jon Rahm are in the final group at 1:10 p.m.

Top scores

Leaders below, with full leaderboard here.

K. Kitayama ... 66-65—131 (-11)

J. Rahm ... 69-62—131 (-11)

C. Davis ... 66-66—132 (-10)

A. Wise ... 66-66—132 (-10)

R. McIlroy ... 66-67—133 (-9)

T. Hatton ... 67-68—135 (-7)

L. Hodges ... 68-67—135 (-7)

T. Hoge ... 68-67—135 (-7)

B. Horschel68-67—135 (-7)

T. Kim ... 66-69—135 (-7)

K.-Hoon Lee ... 68-67—135 (-7)

S. Lowry ... 68-67—135 (-7)

B. Todd ... 68-67—135 (-7)