Sweden’s Alex Noren maintained his two-stroke overnight lead at the Bermuda Championship on Friday, carding a five-under-par in the second round to move to 15-under; coverage continues live on Sky Sports Golf on Saturday from 4pm
Last Updated: 10/11/23 10:38pm
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Highlights of round two from the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course, Bermuda.
Highlights of round two from the Butterfield Bermuda Championship at Port Royal Golf Course, Bermuda.
Alex Noren of Sweden maintained a two-shot lead at the halfway mark of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Friday in Southampton, Bermuda.
After opening the tournament with a 10-under 61, Noren’s bogey-free 66 in the second round gave him a score of 15-under for the tournament and two ahead of Ryan Moore (64 on Friday), Ryan Brehm (65) and Japan’s Satoshi Kodaira (65), who share second place.
Noren appeared ready to continue Thursday’s torrid pace with birdies on the first three holes at Port Royal Golf Course. He then ground out 11 straight pars before his final birdies arrived at Nos. 15 and 17.
The 41-year-old owns 10 career victories in Europe but none on the PGA Tour. Camilo Villegas of Colombia moved into fifth place with an eight-under 63 on Friday that pushed him to 12 under for the week.
Noren, whose last title came at the 2018 Open de France, had an early lead at last week’s World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico before tying for second.
“The wedges came up 15 feet instead of five and had a bunch of tap-ins yesterday (Thursday). The greens are quite a lot of slope and quite a lot of grain. The first three birdies I just kind of rolled in, and then it was a little trickier,” said Noren.
“It helps when you had a good round the previous day. You’re not necessarily struggling, not frustrated, it’s just that, ‘What am I doing different? Am I trying too hard or start asking caddie for the reads?’
“He helps me off and on with the reads, but it’s probably better that I just feel the putts and trust my instinct. That’s what I did yesterday. You’ve got to just stay with it.”
The cut line was projected at five-under par with the final few groups finishing their rounds on Saturday morning after play was suspended due to darkness. Sam Bennett, who made waves as an amateur at last April’s Masters before he turned pro, is on track to miss the cut by one shot.
Oliver Betschart, a 15-year-old amateur from Bermuda who qualified for the tournament at his home course, went 73-75 to finish his first PGA Tour start at six-over. He was the youngest player in an official PGA Tour event in the past 10 years.
Watch the Butterfield Bermuda Championship throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues Saturday from 4pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more with NOW.
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