MacIntyre four clear at Texas Open after sizzling second-round 64
by AFP · The42LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago
ROBERT MACINTYRE STORMED to the top of the Texas Open leaderboard Friday with a superb 64 that put the Scot 14-under-par midway through the US PGA Tour event.
Having eagled the par-five 14th hole, MacIntyre birdied four of his final five holes on day two to open up a commanding advantage.
His nearest rival was Ludvig Aberg, four strokes back on 10-under.
MacIntryre’s 130 is the lowest opening 36-hole score since the Texas Open moved to its current course, TPC San Antonio, in 2010.
Asked what had gone well for him on Friday, MacIntyre replied: “Everything.”
“I’ve been driving the ball nice… Iron play today was exceptional, I would say. Hit a pure wedge shot on 17, I thought it was absolutely dynamite there,” he said.
MacIntyre, ranked 11th in the world, will be among the contenders at next week’s Masters, the first major of 2026.
He said he had entered the Texas Open to be “sharper going into Augusta,” after having skipped San Antonio last year.
“I prefer playing my way in whether it’s one, two, sometimes three events before a major,” he said.
For overnight leader Mark Hubbard, though, it was a day to forget after he opened with a fine 65 on Thursday.
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The American struck a 77 on Friday, including six bogeys and a double bogey on the 5th, where he became trapped in the rough beyond the green.
Séamus Power is also in action at the tournament. He was six shots off the lead after his opening round, but the Waterford man endured a difficult start to his second round with a double-bogey on the first and a bogey on the fourth hole.
Power added another bogey on the par-four 11th but also registered three birdies on his way to a one-over 73. Sitting on even par for the weekend, Power was left two shots outside the projected cut with play suspended because of darkness.
Meanwhile on the LPGA, Lauren Coughlin fired an impressive three-under par 69 in tough conditions on Friday to build a five-stroke lead midway through the LPGA Aramco Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Coughlin had six birdies and three bogeys as she matched the low round of the day at Shadow Creek, where her eight-under par total of 136 put her five clear of Ireland’s Leona Maguire and South Korean Kim Hyo-joo.
Coughlin, who finished runner-up to Madelene Sagstrom when the tournament was a match play event last year, said she played “really, really good” in “really difficult” conditions.
“The wind was kind of swirling at times and a lot of crosswinds,” she said. “Very difficult. The greens firmed up as they do in the afternoon, especially with the wind.”
Maguire had four birdies and three bogeys in her one-under 71 and was joined on three-under 141 by Kim, who is coming off back-to-back LPGA victories at the Founders Cup and Ford Championship.
Kim had a double bogey and three bogeys but nabbed the last of her four birdies at the par-five 18th to complete a one-over 73.
“Going out, we knew it was going to be tough,” Maguire said. “Obviously a lot windier, different wind than we got all week as well, which made some holes play quite a bit longer.
“We knew we were going to get the firmer end of the greens this afternoon, so just a case of staying extremely patient.”
Despite the testing conditions, Maguire welcomed the test posed by Shadow Creek.
“It’s a fantastic golf course,” she said. “It’s one of the best courses we play all year.”
As a dual member of the LPGA and the Ladies European Tour she was relishing this week’s co-sanctioned event, which is part of the Saudi-backed Global Series and features a total purse of $4 million with a $600,000 winner’s prize.
“This is a huge event for both tours,” Maguire said. “Outside of the majors this is one of the biggest there is and a huge opportunity for everyone early in the year to do well.”
The field features all of the top 20 in the world rankings.
World number two Nelly Korda headlined a trio sharing fourth on two-under 142.
Korda carded a two-over 74 and was tied with Denmark’s Nana Koerstz Madsen and overnight co-leader Miyu Yamashita of Japan.
Koerstz Madsen carded a two-under 70 while Yamashita, the reigning Women’s British Open champion and last year’s LPGA Rookie of the Year, posted a three-over 75.
Lauren Walsh has fallen back to six-over after a second round of 80.
Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell