Scheffler, Spieth Survive Cut at Charles Schwab Challenge, Griffin and Schmid Lead.
Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth both managed to make the weekend at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but neither had an easy path. Scheffler, who has been in dominant form recently, shot a second-round 71 that left him at 1-under for the tournament. That was just enough to clear the cut line, extending his PGA Tour made-cut streak to 55 events.
Scheffler struggled to generate momentum during a round that featured more frustration than highlights. Starting on the back nine, he missed early birdie chances inside 10 feet and then dropped shots at holes 12 and 14. A pair of birdies on the front nine offered some relief, but a closing bogey at No. 9 left him tied for 49th heading into the weekend.
Spieth’s journey was equally tense. After a bogey at the 4th pushed him below the cut line, the Dallas native scrambled to stay alive. He drained a 28-foot birdie on No. 10 to briefly move above the projected line, but bogeys on 13 and 15 meant he needed another late push. A clutch birdie at 17 and a routine par at the last sealed a second-round 71 and even-par total, good enough to sit tied for 62nd.
While the local stars had to grind, Pierceson Coody showed flashes of brilliance in his 3-under 67. The University of Texas product relied on a strong short game, scrambling for par on all seven missed greens and adding three birdies to reach 4-under overall, tied for 18th. Coody’s up-and-down birdie from 81 feet at No. 1 stood out as a highlight of his round.
At the top of the leaderboard, Ben Griffin and Matti Schmid each fired 63s to share the 36-hole lead at 11-under. Griffin, a North Carolina native, and Schmid, representing Germany, capitalized on ideal scoring conditions at Colonial Country Club to separate from the field. John Park, the first-round leader, sits two shots back in solo third at 9-under.
Defending champion Davis Riley will not be around for the weekend after finishing 2-over and missing the cut. His early exit contrasts sharply with last year’s form and underlines the difficulty of sustaining momentum on the PGA Tour.
Rickie Fowler provided one of the day’s most entertaining stretches, matching a career-low nine-hole score of 29 on his first nine. With pinpoint iron play and a bold shot from a fairway bunker at 18, Fowler ended his front nine with a curling 14-foot birdie that capped a sizzling 6-under run, drawing cheers from a supportive Fort Worth crowd.
