Procore Championship Round 2: Ben Griffin Stays Bogey-Free and Builds a Three-Shot Lead

Two weeks before Bethpage Black, Ben Griffin is playing like a man who forgot the Ryder Cup is on the calendar. That is a compliment.

Griffin followed Thursday's 64 with a bogey-free 6-under 66 on Friday to reach 14-under 130 and take a three-shot lead at the halfway point of the Procore Championship. Russell Henley (68) and amateur Jackson Koivun (66) are tied for second at 11 under. J.J. Spaun (68) and Lanto Griffin (70) are five back at 9 under, and Rico Hoey sits alone in sixth at 8 under after a second straight 68.

Thirty-Six Holes, Zero Bogeys

Griffin started on the back nine and handled the three par 5s on that side without drama. The par-3 17th delivered the round's signature moment, a 21-foot birdie putt that let him make the turn in 33. On the front side he kept stacking quality looks, sticking an approach to 8 feet at No. 2 and another to 4 feet at No. 6, and converting both.

The numbers back it up. Griffin hit 16 greens in regulation and has not made a bogey through 36 holes at Silverado. For a player who arrived in Napa off two recent missed cuts at the John Deere and The Open, followed by four straight top-12 finishes starting at the Wyndham, this looks a lot like the version that won twice on TOUR this season, including at Colonial.

Griffin insisted the Ryder Cup is not living rent-free in his head. "I wouldn't even say my mindset's been Ryder Cup. I've been pretty focused on this golf tournament," he said, per the AP. He sounded even looser about the weekend. "I really have nothing to lose this week," Griffin told the PGA TOUR, adding that he feels freer now than he did during the FedExCup Playoffs, when he had more on the line.

"I'm trying to stay confident, stay motivated and keep the pedal down," he said.

The Kid Keeps Coming

If Griffin is the leader, Koivun is the story.

The world's top-ranked amateur, a 20-year-old junior at Auburn, made the shot of his week on the par-5 12th. From 270 yards he ran a 3-iron up onto the green and left himself about 2 feet for eagle. He mixed in six birdies, gave back shots at No. 9 and at No. 14, where a tee shot went out of bounds, and still posted 66. Koivun ranked first in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green for the round and was tied for second in Strokes Gained: Total.

Henley lives about 40 minutes from Auburn and has been a mentor to Koivun, and the kid made his intentions clear before the round. "I ran into Russell Henley on the range and told him I was going to catch him," Koivun said. "So that was my objective." Mission accomplished, at least for one day.

Koivun already holds a PGA TOUR card through PGA TOUR University Accelerated and deferred it to stay in school. This is just his ninth TOUR start, and his best finish so far is a T5 at the Wyndham in July.

Henley Grinds, Spaun Shrugs

Henley's 68 could have been better. Henley was the first in a marquee group with Scottie Scheffler and Spaun to make a move, then three-putted from 45 feet for bogey at the par-4 third and failed to get up and down from left of the green at the par-3 seventh. Still, Henley is three back, bogeys and all, with a Ryder Cup debut waiting. "It's a dream come true being able to play on the team," Henley said.

Spaun, the U.S. Open champion and another Ryder Cup rookie, kept it simple after a 68. "It wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible," Spaun said, crediting a handful of good iron shots and a few putts made outside 3 feet.

Thursday's leader had a tougher Friday. Mackenzie Hughes slipped to 7 under after a 74 and sits in a seven-way tie for seventh alongside Matt McCarty, Zac Blair, Garrick Higgo, Emiliano Grillo, Taylor Montgomery and Justin Hastings.

Scheffler on the Move, Sort Of

Scheffler shot 68 and is 6 under, tied for 14th and eight shots back. It was better than Thursday, with more birdies and a stuffed wedge at the 14th that set one of them up, but the world No. 1 still left Silverado frustrated by approach shots that did not finish where he aimed them. Eight shots is a lot. It is also Scheffler.

Ryder Cup Roll Call

The rest of Keegan Bradley's team mostly bunched up around the cut line. Cameron Young, another first-time Ryder Cupper, made 101 feet of putts on his way to a 67 and is 5 under. Collin Morikawa, who switched putters before the week, shot 68 to get to 4 under. Justin Thomas and Harris English each shot 70 to reach 2 under.

The cut fell at 1 under, and that made things tense for two of Bradley's picks. Patrick Cantlay (71) and Sam Burns (72) both finished right on the number and made it, which buys them two more competitive rounds before Bethpage.

Moving Day in Napa

Griffin has a three-shot cushion and a clean card. Koivun has the swagger of a kid who just called his shot and backed it up. Henley has the steadiest hands in the chase pack, and Scheffler has the reputation nobody wants to see creeping up the board. Saturday will tell us whether this is Griffin's tournament to lose or a weekend shootout.

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, leaderboard and player features), AP, Field Level Media, Golf Channel, CBS Sports, TSN. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.