Texas Children's Houston Open Round 2: Scottie Scheffler Ties the Course Record With 62 and Takes Control

Scottie Scheffler got the good half of Friday, and he did not waste a minute of it.

Playing in the morning wave before thunderstorms rolled over Memorial Park, the world No. 1 shot a bogey-free 8-under 62 to reach 11-under 129 and take the lead at the Texas Children's Houston Open. The second round was not finished until Saturday morning, after a weather suspension and then darkness left half the field stranded, but nobody who came back could catch Scheffler. Min Woo Lee, Taylor Pendrith and Ryan Gerard are one shot back at 10 under.

A Record Morning

Scheffler opened on the back nine and birdied his first two holes, the second of them a long putt across the par-3 11th. He added a 29-footer on the par-3 second, the only green he missed all day, and finished with four birdies on each nine.

The 62 ties the Memorial Park course record, a mark Scheffler already shared with Tony Finau, who has shot it twice. It is Scheffler's eighth career round of 62 or better and his first since the final round of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The ball-striking was tidy, 9 of 13 fairways and 17 of 18 greens, but the putter did the heavy lifting. Scheffler holed more than 112 feet of putts and gained nearly four strokes on the field, mostly on the greens, per the PGA TOUR. That is now 36 holes without a bogey.

Scheffler was candid that the day surprised him. "It was a lot different than we thought it was going to be," he said. The course was soft, the morning wind never really showed up, and lift, clean and place was in effect. The field average dipped below 68 on the par-70 layout, more than two strokes lower than Thursday.

Keith Mitchell, who shot 68 to sit four back, put it simply: "He's really starting to catch his stride."

Storms, Then Darkness

The afternoon wave got a different tournament. Lightning and thunderstorms suspended play at 3:01 p.m. local time, and the restart did not come until 5:10 p.m. Darkness ended things at 7:37 p.m., with 52 players still needing to finish their rounds Saturday morning. Thursday's round had also been halted by darkness, and those 16 players had to complete Round 1 early Friday before the second round could even begin.

Lee was among the players caught out, and among the most dangerous. Five under through 16 holes when the horn blew, Lee came back early Saturday, birdied one of the two remaining holes and parred the other to post 64 and move into a share of second. Two weeks after sharing the 36-hole lead at THE PLAYERS, Lee is right back in a weekend spotlight.

Pendrith was the steady one, backing up Thursday's 65 with another to sit one back. "I think you're going to need a couple more low ones to get it done," Pendrith said, which reads like a man who saw Scheffler's number and did the math. Gerard matched that 65-65 start.

Echavarria's Wild Ride

Nobody had a stranger 24 hours than Nico Echavarria. Out in 29, Echavarria was 9 under for the round Friday and on the 17th green when play was called, sitting one shot behind Scheffler. When the round resumed Saturday morning, the finish went sideways: bogeys on the 17th and 18th turned a potential share of second into a 63 and a 36-hole total of 8 under. Still a terrific round. Just not the one it looked like Friday night.

Echavarria sits in a group at 8 under with Alejandro Tosti, Jackson Suber and Trey Mullinax.

McIlroy Finds a Pulse

Rory McIlroy teed off Friday afternoon 11 shots behind Scheffler and in real danger of missing the cut. After the storm delay he stalled, three-putting for par on the eighth, and stood just 1 under for the round on the 15th tee.

Then came the burst he needed: birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th, followed by a par at the 18th just as darkness was called. That added up to a 66 and a 4-under total of 136, seven back of the lead.

"It's the sort of golf course where it's easy to just make a ton of pars," McIlroy said. Friday he finally made enough birdies to stay around for the weekend.

Gary Woodland also made a move with 64 to reach 7 under. "I've just got to stay patient," Woodland said.

The Cut and the Masters Math

The cut fell at 3 under, with 69 players advancing. J.J. Spaun, Si Woo Kim, Nick Taylor, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman, Alex Smalley and Nicolai Højgaard were among those heading home.

Down the board, the race for Augusta stayed live. Michael Kim shot 65 to cruise into the weekend, and Kim sits No. 52 in the world, just outside the top-50 cutoff for a Masters invitation. Ben Griffin shot 67, though a missed 3-foot par putt on the last will sting.

The Weekend Starts Now

With the second round dragging into Saturday, the third round will go off in threesomes from both tees, and the leaders will not have much time to breathe between rounds.

Here is what we know: Scheffler has the lead, a clean card through 36 holes and a home-state crowd behind him. Lee, Pendrith and Gerard are one back, with a bunch of capable players lurking at 8 under. On a course this soft, a one-shot lead is a starting point, not a cushion.

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 story on Scheffler's 62 (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 2 recap, Scheffler story, weather updates, leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.