Baycurrent Classic Round 2: Max Greyserman Fires 63 and Opens a Four-Shot Lead

The wind finally backed off at Yokohama Country Club, and Max Greyserman did not waste a single gust-free minute of it.

A day after the edges of Typhoon Halong turned the opening round into a grind, Friday brought softer air and greens that rolled true. Greyserman pounced with an 8-under 63, built on an eagle and six birdies, to reach 12-under 130 at the halfway point of the Baycurrent Classic. That is a four-shot lead over Alex Smalley, Alex Noren and a suddenly awake Xander Schauffele, who share second at 8-under 134.

A Four-Shot Cushion

Thursday was about survival. Friday was about cashing in, and nobody cashed in like the overnight co-leader. Greyserman came into the week carrying the memory of a one-shot loss here a year ago and a playoff loss at the Rocket Classic this summer. Two rounds into this one, the approach is simple, and Greyserman put it plainly afterward.

"I've been doing things well this week from the start and so I just need to keep doing what I'm doing," Greyserman said, per the AP.

There was one more storyline in Greyserman's answers. Asked whether the Japanese galleries remembered the near miss of 2024, Greyserman figured plenty of them had been there and had not forgotten. A four-shot lead at the halfway point is a good way to remind the rest of them.

Schauffele Wakes Up

The round of the day for anyone who follows the big names belonged to Schauffele. After an even-par 71 on Thursday, the two-time major champion opened Friday with four straight birdies from the third through the sixth, added another at the eighth and one more at the 13th, then closed with back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18. The 63 was Schauffele's lowest round of the 2025 season, according to the PGA TOUR, and the 134 total tied Schauffele's best 36-hole mark of the year.

The numbers under the hood are strong. Through two days Schauffele was gaining more than 2.5 strokes off the tee and nearly four strokes putting, per the TOUR.

It has been a strange year for Schauffele. A rib injury at The Sentry led to roughly two months away, the TOUR Championship went on without Schauffele for the first time, and a son, Victor, arrived at the end of August. Then came a 3-1 week at Bethpage Black for the U.S. Ryder Cup team. Friday looked like the version of Schauffele that collected two majors in 2024.

"Greens were rolling pretty nice and the wind was down," Schauffele said, per the AP, after describing Thursday as a round where "you were just trying to survive."

Noren and Smalley Keep Pace

Schauffele was not the only one moving. Smalley and Noren each posted 65 to join the tie for second. Noren's card included six birdies after an opening 69, a clean, efficient round from a player who never seems to be far away on a scoring day. Smalley, two back after the first round, matched that number to stay squarely in the hunt.

One shot further back at 7 under is a strong group: defending champion Nico Echavarria (65), Si Woo Kim (64), Sahith Theegala (67) and first-round co-leader Brian Campbell (68). Echavarria knows exactly how this course and this crowd feel down the stretch, even if the venue is new.

Higa's Front-Nine Fireworks

The most electric nine of the day came from Japan's own Kazuki Higa, who made eight birdies on the front nine to shoot 28. For a moment the home crowd had visions of something historic. The back nine cooled off, and Higa settled for 64, but that still moved the local favorite to 6 under, tied for ninth with Rico Hoey and Garrick Higgo.

Who Slipped

The calm conditions did not lift everyone. Adam Scott, one back after the first round, went 1-over 72 and dropped to 2 under. Bud Cauley, the bogey-free co-leader on Thursday, could not keep pace and fell outside the top 10. Collin Morikawa shot 68 and sits nine back at 3 under, which is not nothing in a no-cut, 78-player field, but it is a lot of ground with Greyserman playing this well.

The Weekend Ahead

This is the PGA TOUR's only stop in Japan, played this year for the first time at Yokohama after its run east of Tokyo, and the 500 FedExCup points that go to the winner carry weight in a FedExCup Fall where only the top 100 keep full status for 2026. Greyserman holds the biggest cushion on the board, but Schauffele just showed what this course gives up when the wind lies down. The weekend forecast will matter as much as anyone's swing.

Catch up on Thursday in our Round 1 recap. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap, Schauffele feature, leaderboard), AP, Golf Channel, GolfMagic. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.