2023 BMW Championship leaderboard: Max Homa surges into solo lead as Rory McIlroy falls relieve in Round 2

Homa became on point with the putter Friday at Olympia Fields as he skyrocketed past a host of contenders

Aug 18, 2023

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6:16 pm ET

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1 min read

There’s something about complicated golf purposes that Max Homa is animated to waste gaze extremely easy. Carding a direction-pronounce 2nd-spherical 62 at the North Route at Olympia Fields on Friday, Homa has taken alter of the 2023 BMW Championship at 10 under. Commanding a two-stroke, 36-hole lead over Chris Kirk, Homa is now projected to switch to No. 1 within the FedEx Cup standings and commence next week’s Tour Championship with a two-stroke lead.

In describe to catch to next week, nonetheless, Homa will have to play the weekend outdoor Chicago in a an identical manner to Friday’s 18. Carding 10 birdies around the complicated par 70, the six-time PGA Tour winner appeared fancy a person amongst boys splitting fairways, peppering greens and holing putts unlike any varied within the self-discipline.

Four birdies at some stage in his first seven holes saw Homa rise to 6 under on the leaderboard after opening Thursday with a 68. After a hiccup on the lengthy eighth, the 33-twelve months-old-fashioned then kick-started his homeward half with five birdies in his first six holes to surge past Kirk and Matt Fitzpatrick within the clubhouse and furthermore a stuck-in-fair Rory McIlroy. A bogey-birdie-par get set up the finishing touches on Homa’s day.

Slowly regaining self belief from a middling commence to his summer season, Homa has rekindled the produce that carried him to a pair of early-season victories in his native order of California. Arriving at the BMW Championship having improved his finishing site in every of his final four starts, including his first principal high 10 at The Delivery, Homa has eyes on making improvements to as soon as extra and taking pictures his first postseason bag within the scheme.

The chief

1. Max Homa (-10): The final time Homa shot 62 on the PGA Tour became the 2nd spherical of the 2022 Tour Championship. Also can aloof he proceed to play fancy this, he’s going to head into the season finale in pole site where but another 62 would set up this postseason image to mattress. Whereas he became spectacular from tee to inexperienced hitting 10 of 14 fairways and 16 of 18 greens in laws, Homa became next level with the putter in hand. He posted +4.34 strokes obtained striking, which became appropriate for the third-most effective single-spherical performance of his profession.

Other contenders

2. Chris Kirk (-8)
T3. Matt Fitzpatrick, Brian Harman (-7)
T5. Rickie Fowler, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Harris English, Justin Rose (-5)
T10. Sungjae Im, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay (-3)

One other week, but another instance of Scheffler desiring his putter to display cloak some life. Over again beating Olympia Fields into submission from tee to inexperienced, the sphere No. 1 fell rapid on the greens en route to 17 pars and one birdie for a spherical of 69. He finds himself five strokes off the tempo of Homa after shedding three strokes on the inexperienced in Round 2, and would possibly possibly possibly wish his putter to cooperate this the weekend if he is to waste up ground over the final 36 holes.

“Or no longer it’s more uncomplicated mentioned than carried out whilst you are observing it on TV,” mentioned Scheffler. “These greens have faith a bunch of pitch. No. 10 is an proper instance I’d deliver… Equivalent to you tag Jon [Rahm] hit an proper shot in there on 9, after which he hit an proper shot in there on 10 and it spins your total arrangement off the inexperienced. Or no longer it’s appropriate anxious to position the ball within the actual spots to catch the uphill putts. I mediate my scheme at the present time became of direction appropriate the manner I became hitting it, appropriate attempting to catch as many looks as probably, ball became appropriate dodging the cup.”

Bubble boys

It would be a disgrace for somebody with the season of Tyrrell Hatton to forget the Tour Championship, nonetheless it would possibly possibly possibly furthermore change into a actuality Sunday. Dropping four spots within the standings, the Englishman is the bubble boy heading into the 2nd half of this match as stable performances from his fellow countrymen Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick have faith Hatton in a precarious site.

Jon Rahm’s rough postseason

The Masters champion entered the postseason atop the FedEx Cup standings and became fortunate to leer his title within the same site getting into the week. After relieve-to-relieve 72s, the Spaniard sits outdoor the pinnacle 30 in this 50-man self-discipline and is projected to tumble to No. 3 within the standings. This shall be the principal for Rahm’s probabilities to enhance his first FedEx Cup as a spin within the standings would mean beginning within the relieve of the 8-ball within the Tour Championship where a staggered commence has confirmed complicated to beat.

2023 BMW Championship updated odds, picks

• Max Homa: 7/4
• Rory McIlroy: 13/2
• Scottie Scheffler: 15/2
• Brian Harman: 9-1
• Chris Kirk: 10-1
• Matt Fitzpatrick: 10-1
• Patrick Cantlay: 18-1
• Rickie Fowler: 22-1
• Xander Schauffele: 25-1

If McIlroy drives the ball well (he has hit fully nine fairways through two rounds), he’s going to bag. At the same time, if Scheffler putts, he’s going to bag. It is anxious to gaze past the pinnacle two players within the sphere, in particular brooding about how reliant on the putter Homa became en route to his pronounce-environment day. Schauffele shall be the play at 25-1 for those attempting to search out extra juice as he obtained almost six strokes ball striking on Friday and fully trails by a half dozen.