In the Land of the Rising Sun, several players were rising up the leaderboard as the fierce winds that wreaked havoc in the first round died down and resulted in better scoring on Friday at Yokohama Country Club in Yokohama, Japan.
“Yesterday felt like you were just trying to survive the round and at some points it felt like there’s almost no wind today,” said Xander Schauffele. “Greens were rolling pretty nice and the wind was down. If you’re hitting good shots you were getting rewarded for them.”
Alex Smalley and defending champion Nico Echavarria showed the way early with 65s to move into contention. Schauffele and Max Greyserman carded 63s but no one went lower than Keith Mitchell, who posted 62. Greyserman continued his exceptional play in Japan, claiming the 36-hole lead at 12-under 130. But there’s no cut this week to the 78-man field, meaning everyone technically is alive to take home the title. Here’s what you missed if you were sleeping during the Baycurrent Classic:
Unfinished business for Greyserman
Max Greyserman’s birdie putt at the ninth, his 18th hole of the day, circled the cup and fell for his eighth birdie of the day and a bogey-free round of 63. Greyserman, one of three 18-hole co-leaders, grabbed the solo lead at 12-under 130. He carded six birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fourth hole and leads by four strokes. Asked what he liked about what he called “a stress-free round,” he said, “Everything, probably. A couple loose swings, but overall had a lot of looks. Did a lot of things well. So I’ve been doing things well this week from the start and so just need to keep doing what I’m doing.”
Greyserman finished T-2 last year in Japan. How does he explain his success in the Land of the Rising Sun? “I’m not sure, it’s a good question,” he said.
But after four runner-up finishes since 2024, he has a pretty good idea of what he needs to do to get over the hump and claim his first Tour title.
“Job’s not finished until it’s over. So, foot on the gas, keep trying to make as many birdies as possible,” he said. “I’m going to go out there with the mentality of trying to shoot the lowest score possible.”
Schauffele sizzles
Xander Schauffele is lurking as he seeks his first win since the 2024 British Open. His injury-plagued season has been a disappointment but that seemed like a thing of the past as Schauffele played like the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking and posted a bogey-free 8-under 63 on Friday. Asked what he’s hoping to gain from this fall start, he said, “Just confidence is kind of the biggest thing. Every Tour pro knows there’s times when you’re playing well and things are flowing and you don’t really think a whole lot about your swing or technical things at all. Just trying to get back to a little bit more of that the rest of this year and the new year.”
Schauffele won the gold medal in the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo, where his maternal grandparents reside; his mother also grew up in Japan. Asked if it would be special to win again in Japan, he said, “It would be, it really would. It’s only Friday. We’re in a good spot, four back, I think. Plenty of golf left, but yeah, it would be special.”
Noren stays hot
Alex Noren is playing some of the best golf on the planet of late. The Swede served as a European Ryder Cup vice captain but he could’ve fared well as a member of Team Europe the way he’s been playing. He won the British Masters and BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event, in the last month. But he’s still seeking his first PGA Tour title. What did he learn from his recent victories?
“I think the biggest lessons from those ones is you don’t have to hit every shot good, you just have to stick with it, stick with your practice, your routines and the good play will come,” he said. “If you start kind of like going more through your motions, emotions and not stick to your game plan, then it’s tricky.”
Noren opened with 69-65 to sit at 8-under 134 and tied for second. Through 36 holes, he ranks first in driving accuracy and second in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. Could Noren continue his winning ways and follow in the footsteps of Tommy Fleetwood in finally notching a win on the PGA Tour?
Defending champ in the mix
Nico Echavarria is lurking just three strokes back in his title defense. Different course but the Colombian is making himself at home at Yokohama CC, shooting 7-under 65 in the second round to join the trophy hunt. This weekend he may need to shift into what he dubbed his villain mindset.
“I had a different mindset coming into the back nine of almost becoming the villain, playing against Justin Thomas as a great player,” Echavarria said of what helped him hold off the popular American. “So I wanted to have a villain mentality and just, I don’t know if the expression is ‘damage the party’ [think he meant spoil the party] or, but yeah, I had to change something in my mindset with that back nine to go.”
Other notables
Japan’s Kazuki Higa birdied eight of the first nine holes to tour the front nine in 8-under 28. He made a bogey at 12 and failed to make a single birdie on the back en route to 64. He sits at 6-under 138 and T-9.
Keith Mitchell bogeyed his first hole and then made 10 birdies to shoot a tournament-best 9-under 62. He jumped to 5-under 137.
Two-time major winner and 2023 Baycurrent Classic champ Collin Morikawa fired a 68 to improve to 3-under 139.
Past Masters champ Adam Scott backed up with a 1-over 72 to sit at 2-under 140. He’s tied with Hideki Matsuyama.
Billy Horschel bounced back from an opening-round 77 with 66 to get back to 1 over.
The 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark shot 70 and is tied with Herschel at 1 over.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: 5 things to know from the second rounds of the Baycurrent Classic
