Hero World Challenge Round 2: Another Five-Way Tie as Cameron Young Fires 64

Albany keeps refusing to pick a leader. One day after five players shared the top spot at 6 under, a reshuffled five are tied again at the halfway point of the Hero World Challenge. Three of the names stayed. Two are new. And the world No. 1 is one shot behind all of them after a palmetto bush took a bite out of his round.

Cameron Young (64), Hideki Matsuyama (66), J.J. Spaun (68), Wyndham Clark (68) and Akshay Bhatia (68) share the lead at 10-under 134. Scottie Scheffler, Alex Noren and Sepp Straka are one back at 9 under, and Justin Rose is alone at 8 under. That is nine players within two shots in a 20-man field.

Young Catches Fire

Young started the day in a tie for 12th and finished it tied for the lead, which is what a 30 on the back nine will do. The burst included an eagle at the par-5 15th, a chip-in that the PGA TOUR picked as its Shot of the Day. Young cooled off at the last, missing an 8-foot par putt, but the 64 was still the low round of the first two days.

Young described it as one of those little stretches with a few tap-ins mixed in with some made putts. The stretch was enough to put a player who broke through for a first PGA TOUR title at the Wyndham Championship in August right in the middle of the mix in the Bahamas.

Matsuyama Goes Clean

Matsuyama's 66 was quieter and arguably more impressive: bogey-free, built on the greens. Matsuyama said, through the tournament's account, that some good putts were the reason for the score. The Japanese star knows this place better than almost anyone in the field. This is Matsuyama's 10th time playing Albany, and Matsuyama won this event in 2016, its second year in the Bahamas. Add a 2021 Masters title and a record-setting win at The Sentry in January, and the résumé fits a weekend at the top.

Spaun's Eagle Show

Spaun had to work harder for his 68. Spaun bogeyed two of the first four holes, the kind of start that can send a holiday-week round sideways. Instead the U.S. Open champion found two eagles. At the par-5 sixth, Spaun hit 3-wood to 3 feet. At the reachable par-4 14th, the tee shot stopped 5 feet away. Spaun nearly had a third, missing a 15-foot eagle try at the par-5 15th. The AP noted Spaun had made only five eagles all season before this week, so two in one round was a bit of a windfall.

Clark had an up-and-down front nine and a better back nine to post 68, and called it a tough day out there. Bhatia, playing the final event before getting married, also shot 68. Bhatia saved par from short of the 16th green, then chipped through the 17th green into a bunker and limited the damage to a bogey by holing a 15-foot putt, before a birdie at 18 got the shot back.

Scheffler and the Palmetto

Scheffler had it. For one hole, anyway. An 18-foot eagle putt at the par-5 15th moved him to 11 under and a one-shot lead. Then came the 16th. For the second straight day Scheffler pulled the tee shot, this time into a bush that required a penalty drop. The next shot was blind, it clipped another palmetto bush, and the hole ended in a double bogey. Scheffler finished with a 69.

"I think I did some good things out there. Just a few too many mistakes, but overall still felt pretty good," Scheffler said.

Straka also shot 69 to stay one back, and Noren matched Matsuyama's 66 to join them at 9 under.

Around the Field

Rose shot 68 for the second straight day, with an eagle at the 15th, to sit two back. The AP noted Rose is a former Albany resident, so the place is hardly unfamiliar.

Billy Horschel shot 68 and is five behind, but there is a different number tied to Horschel's week. Horschel missed most of the year after hip surgery, is the only player in the field without a Masters invitation and sits No. 45 in the world. The top 50 at year's end go to Augusta, so every shot here carries weight beyond the holiday trophy.

Weekend Logjam

Two rounds, two five-way ties. Nobody has created separation at Albany yet, and the leaderboard is stacked with recent winners and major champions. The par 5s and the drivable par 4s have produced the big swings, from eagles at 6, 7, 14 and 15 to Scheffler's double at 16, and they will again on Saturday. For now, the Hero World Challenge is still waiting for someone to take it. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR tournament page (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 2 recap (opens in a new tab) has more. Catch up on Thursday with our Round 1 recap.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap, leaderboard), AP, Hero World Challenge, Sky Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.