In Friday's second round of The Sentry in Hawaii, World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler birdied his last hole to pull ahead of the field, with England's Tyrrell Hatton tying him for the lead with a 62.
Scheffler finished his opening 36 holes at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in 16-under 130, with a nine-under 64. Englishman Hatton, American Brendon Todd, and South Korean Sungjae Im all reached 15 under after posting the lowest round of the competition thus far, an 11-under 62.
At the par-3 second hole, Scheffler cleared the way for his lone birdie of the day. At the par-five fifth hole, he immediately recovered with a birdie and made a 24-foot eagle putt.
After that, the 2022 Masters champion made seven birdies, including four in a row at holes 12 through 15, which included a two-putt birdie at the par-five 18th.
Scottie too hotty:
"Scores around this place are pretty low, but it's one of those places if you go out there and play well you're going to get rewarded," Scheffler said.
"If you start not hitting it in the right spots, you can get in trouble. Just got to keep the pedal down out here."
Hatton completed his 62-hole round with a remarkable eagle, matching his career-low score on the PGA Tour.
Hatton started to heat up after making four birdies on his front nine. He had his lone bogey of the round, but he birdied six of his following eight holes.
On his third attempt at No. 18, he was just off the green but over 97 feet from the pin; his lag putt picked up momentum just before it struck the cup.
"I actually think 11-under is my lowest round as a pro, so that's something to be proud of," Hatton said. "Maybe a surprise to do it in the second round back to start the year, after how long I've had off."
Todd shot 64 after making an eagle putt at the par-five fifth, while Im finished steady at 66 to tie for the lead.
After shooting a 67 on Friday, Norway's Viktor Hovland, the FedEx Cup champion from last summer, is tied for sixth place at 14 under. Chris Kirk (65), Byeong Hun An of South Korea (64) and Collin Morikawa (67) join him.
"Overall, it just felt very comfy out there," An said. "The wind wasn't too hard, or harsh on us, so that's why you saw a lot of good scores today."
Among those tied at 13 under were first-round leader Sahith Theegala (69) and Jordan Spieth (67).
Only the top 50 finishers from the FedEx Cup playoffs the previous season, along with any player who has won a tournament, were invited to compete in The Sentry, the first event of the 2024 PGA Tour schedule. The 36-hole cut is absent.
Spain's Jon Rahm, the defending champion, is not present because he has switched to LIV Golf.