Leaderboard: Round 2 of Tour Championship

Jutanugarn, Thompson split the spoils

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HUMBLE, Texas — Expectant father Peter Malnati started strong and shot 7-under 65 Friday to lead at the Houston Open after morning rain and lightning prevented the second round from being completed. First-round co-leader Austin Cook, who opened with an 8-under 64, briefly got to 11-under before dropping all the way to 6-under through 15 holes before play was suspended due to darkness at 7 p.m. Talor Gooch, who started the day tied with Cook, improved to 9-under through 14 holes and is a shot behind Malnati’s lead. The 32-year-old Malnati has been playing professionally since 2009 and has one career PGA TOUR title. He is expecting the birth of his first child in two weeks and said it’s been “a distraction because my head’s back home.” “But this week I told myself, `Dude, this is your last tournament before you become a dad. Do something with it,'” he said. Malnati, who managed a first-round 69 after missing the cut in his last two tournaments, teed off early in what he called “summertime” conditions, humid and dead calm before bad weather suspended play for over two hours. He took advantage with three birdies and an eagle. A couple of underwhelming wedge shots may have cost him back-nine birdies. “I got to play the first five holes in perfect conditions and really took advantage of it,” he said. “I then came back out and was able to keep the momentum going. To make no bogeys in the conditions we played is really more than I could have ever hoped for. I played the last 13 holes wishing I had hand-warmers. The wind was certainly a two or three club wind.” Although his wife, Alicia, isn’t due for another two weeks, he conceded he’s already “fully on call.” “She has all the media officials phone numbers,” he said. “If she has to come get me off the course, she will.” Only four of the top 10 players on the leaderboard have completed 36 holes. Sepp Straka is in at 8-under, and Carlos Ortiz and Mark Hubbard are 7-under. Straka is tied with Nick Watney (14 holes) and Lanto Griffin (13)

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SILVIS, Ill. — Third-round leader Patrick Rodgers knew that it would take a ton of birdies Sunday to win the John Deere Classic. Bryson DeChambeau took that advice to heart. DeChambeau overcame a four-stroke deficit to beat Rodgers by a stroke for his first PGA TOUR title — and a spot next week in the Open Championship. The 23-year-old DeChambeau birdied four of the final six holes at TPC Deere Run for a 6-under 65 and an 18-under 266 total. In 2015, the unconventional former SMU star became the fifth player to win the NCAA individual title and U.S. Amateur in the same year. The win punctuated a comeback of sorts for DeChambeau, who capped a string of missed cuts with a 6-over finish last month in the U.S. Open. “I show everybody that, `Look. There’s plenty of ways to do it.’ I do it my way and I feel comfortable doing it my way,” DeChambeau said. Rodgers closed with 70. DeChambeau made a 14-foot birdie putt on No. 18 to pull even with Rodgers. Rodgers then had a par putt on No. 17 lip out, and sent his tee shot on 18 into the rough. Wesley Bryan (64) and Rick Lamb (66) tied for third at 16 under, and past tournament champions Steve Stricker (64) and Zach Johnson (67) topped the group at 15 under. DeChambeau played the front nine in even par, then birdied six of the final nine holes to surge to the top of the leaderboard. Rodgers, on the other hand, had four bogeys — and his approach on No. 18 sailed past the green. Rodgers nearly chipped in from 50 feet to force a playoff, missing the cup by a foot. DeChambeau became the 10th first-time winner on the PGA Tour this season. “Our tendency when you have the lead is to kind of hold on and play safe and guard against making mistakes. But I had guys coming at me with some really low rounds. Obviously Bryson shot a great one,” said Rodgers, who remained winless on the PGA TOUR. Bryan, who won the RBC Heritage for his first career victory in April, shot a 30 on the back nine. Lamb was 13 under for the final two rounds but was done in by pedestrian efforts in the first two rounds. Stricker, who won at TPC Deere Run from 2009-11, grabbed a share of the lead before Rodgers teed off Sunday. Stricker, 50, went 8-under par through 14 holes to jump all the way up from 34th place. But Stricker’s only bogey came on the 18th hole, when his par putt grazed the cup. “Realistically, if I could have made a couple more birdies there and could have got it to 18-under, who knows? Just couldn’t get it in there,” Stricker said. Johnson, who won the tournament in 2012 and has finished in the top three six times in his last eight appearances, challenged the leaders yet again before falling back. Johnson picked up bogeys on a pair of par 4s on the back nine, and he missed a 4-foot birdie putt on 14. “My goal was to birdie every hole and give myself a chance on every hole. Early on it looked like my game plan was being executed,” Johnson said. Bubba Watson shot a 68 to finish at 9 under.

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