Four tied for lead at Corales Puntacana

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Emiliano Grillo made birdie on half of the holes Friday on his way to an 8-under 63 that gave him a four-shot lead going into the weekend at the Mayakoba Golf Classic presented by UNIFIN. RELATED: Leaderboard | Bhatia proving he belongs The second round was delayed by one hour by heavy rain in the morning, and it was not completed before it was too dark to continue. No one was close enough to catch Grillo, who was at 13-under 130. It will be only the fifth time in 136 starts on the PGA TOUR that he has a share of the lead after any round. Tony Finau one-putted six consecutive holes in the middle of his round, four of them par saves and none tap-ins, and posted a 66. He was at 9-under 133, along with Tom Hoge, who had a 67. Justin Thomas was zooming into contention with five birdies and an eagle through 12 holes. His momentum stalled, however, particularly with bogeys on his last two holes. Thomas had to settle for a 67 and was nine shots behind. But he’s still playing, which won’t be the case for Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka. Fowler was in position for an easy birdie on the par-5 13th hole when he sent a long iron well to the right into the trees for a lost ball. That led to bogey, and he dropped another shot on the 17th that led to a 1-over 72. The cut would not be made until Saturday, though Fowler looked certain to miss by one shot. With no events left this year, Fowler is likely to fall out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since 2010, his first full year on the PGA TOUR. He still is not eligible for the Masters next April, though he would have three months at the start of next year to either win or get into the top 50 by the end of March. Koepka, coming off a pair of top 10s in the Houston Open and the Masters, had another 71 and finished at even-par 142. He was in reasonable shape until three-putting from about 8 feet on the par-5 fifth hole for a bogey, his 14th of the round. He made birdie on the par-3 eighth, but will miss by one shot. Among those still on the course was former U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who turned pro after finishing low amateur at the Masters. Ogletree was at 7 under with three holes remaining. Grillo made five birdies on the front nine to catch Finau and Hoge, who played in the morning. After a bogey at No. 10, the Argentine hit his stride with his great iron play and ran off three straight birdies. As it began to get dark, Grillo stuffed a wedge into about 4 feet on the 17th for his ninth birdie of the round, and he elected to finish the 18th after the horn sounded to stop play because of darkness. Russell Knox, who had the 18-hole lead after a 65, shot a 69 and was alone in fourth at 8-under 134. The group one shot further back included Kyle Stanley and Joel Dahmen, each with a 67, and Aaron Wise (68). Finau has been among the top 20 in the world dating to August 2018, even though his lone victory on the PGA TOUR remains the Puerto Rico Open in 2016. "I learned this game doesn’t owe you anything. You’ve got too earn everything you have, earn all your wins,” Finau said. “It’s been a long time coming I feel like for (win) No. 2. Hopefully, it happens here in a couple of days. Steve Stricker, the 53-year-old Ryder Cup captain, shot 70 and was at 3-under 139. It was the sixth time in 12 starts on the PGA TOUR that he made the cut. Carlos Ortiz, playing for the first time since the Mexican earned his first PGA TOUR title in the Vivint Houston Open last month, had a 68 and was six shots behind.

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SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Each day at U.S. Open, PGATOUR.COM’s staff writers will dive into the big issues and questions everyone is discussing. Patrick Reed (73) said the USGA set up Shinnecock “long and hard” but fair. A lot of players struggled, though, and the field average was north of 76. Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth and Tiger Woods shot 78. Martin Kaymer and Adam Hadwin each shot 83. Was it too hard or is this just the way a “true U.S. Open” is supposed to look? Sean Martin, Senior Editor: Despite the high scores, I don’t think I saw a negative word about the setup. These scores will happen when the winds are humming like they were today. Fortunately for the players, this was supposed to be the windiest day of the week. Ben Everill, Staff Writer: What is “fairâ€� really? Honestly, I don’t care if they put every flag a pace from an edge because at the end of the day everyone in the field plays the same course. I like it when these guys are out of the comfort zone once in a while. Firm it up some more! Cameron Morfit, Staff Writer: I heard more than one afternoon starter complain about the state of the greens, and some of the morning guys felt the pins placements could have been kinder. But in the end, those who played well or reasonably well are going to have their say, while those who struggle will criticize or bite their tongues. This was just really hard, old-school major championship golf. Jonathan Wall, Equipment Insider: I didn’t see a single shot today that led me to believe this was a tricked-out setup. Shinnecock is one of the toughest courses in the world — and that’s before you add U.S. Open conditions and unrelenting winds. I think it was tough but fair, which is exactly what the USGA is going for this week. Phil Mickelson hit 13-of-14 fairways, which was way better than usual, but still shot 77. What went so wrong for Mickelson? Martin: Sometimes you have to wonder if he just wants it too much. Even the optimistic Mickelson has to realize that he only has so many opportunities left to win the U.S. Open. That has to add to the pressure. Everill: Pressure. He wants this too much and as such will never win it. He thinks he has time… I say it has passed. Morfit: I followed this group and noticed that while Mickelson was hitting fairways, he was often leaving himself way too far back. It’s not enough to just hit the fairways with a mid-iron; you’ve got to give yourself a short enough second shot to get at these pins, or at the very least hold the greens. I think he actually played too conservatively, which might be the first time I’ve ever said that about Phil.  Wall: I think he was too conservative off the tee. Hitting the fairway is important, but he left himself with some long second shots. Not only that, he struggled with his iron game a bit in Memphis. I wondered if it could come back to bite him this week. It sure looked that way on Thursday.  There were not many scores in red numbers Thursday, and some surprising names at or near the top of the leaderboard. Which one surprised you most, and why? Martin: It has to be Matthieu Pavon, right? The tattooed Frenchman could follow in the footsteps of countryman Gregory Havret as a surprise contender in a major championship. Pavon is No. 213 in the world ranking and missed five of his last six cuts. He shot 71 on Thursday, though. Everill: I’ve got to go with Russell Henley. I know he’s a TOUR winner and has game but his putter is pretty streaky and I just didn’t expect his short game to hold up in these conditions. More power to him. Morfit: Russell Henley is such a mercurial talent. He looked like the game’s next big star when he burst onto the scene with that win at the Sony Open in Hawaii, and he was great at the Houston Open last year, but he can go so quiet in stretches. I covered his win at Houston, and still I totally forgot how good he is when he’s on. Wall: Scott Piercy walked off the course four holes into a practice round and called his wife to tell her he’d likely be home on Saturday. Now he’s tied for the lead after the first round. Even with his recent U.S. Open success, I did not see that coming.  Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Mickelson, Spieth and Woods were casualties in the first round, with Mickelson’s 77 the best score of the bunch. Which blow-up surprised you most? Martin: I think Day. He has a good U.S. Open record because, like Tiger, he has a knack for grinding out pars in the toughest conditions. Plus, he spoke confidently in his pre-tournament press conference about his chances of regaining No. 1 in the world, and for good reason. He has two wins this season. Everill: Jason Day’s 79. Given he was my pick to win the championship, I was shocked with what I saw. It was also how he made his errors as his trusty putter went missing. Seeing him putt a ball off a green is something I never expected to see. Morfit: Day’s 79. He’s such a grinder in tough conditions, plus he’s won twice already this season. He just didn’t have it. Wall: Jason Day. He normally finds a way to grind out a score even when he doesn’t have his best stuff. Instead, he’ll likely miss out of the weekend for the second straight year.  There was a 92 in the first round, which is obviously too far back, but what’s the highest you could shoot in round one and still be in this tournament? Martin: Raymond Floyd won here in 1986 after a first-round 75. He needed a final-round 66 to overtake a packed leaderboard. It would take something magical to win after shooting higher than that. Everill: I reckon you’re still a rough chance from 6-over and in. It is going to take three very good rounds from there, but with hard and fast and windy conditions set to continue, anything under par or around par is going to move you nicely up the board. Morfit: Anything at 75 or better is still in it. Jimmy Walker, Patrick Cantlay and defending champion Brooks Koepka were among those at 5-over, but as Koepka pointed out an under-par score in the second round would get him (or anyone else on that number) right back in this thing. Wall: I’ll say 5-over still has a chance. But it’s going to take a herculean effort to get out of a deep hole. Posting a couple near-spotless rounds feels like an impossible task at Shinnecock. 

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