THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson Round 2: Scottie Scheffler Outlasts the Storm and Leads by Six

Lightning, six hours of waiting and a darkened golf course could not cool off Scottie Scheffler on Friday. If anything, the break made him hungrier.

Scheffler shot an 8-under 63 in a second round that started Friday at TPC Craig Ranch and was not completed until Saturday morning. He reached 18-under 124 through 36 holes of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson and leads by six over Sam Stevens, who shot a second straight 65 to get to 12 under. Ricky Castillo and Kurt Kitayama finished 36 holes at 11 under, and Jhonattan Vegas, who shot 69, sits at 10 under.

Eight Pars, Then the Horn

For the first eight holes, the second round looked like a breather. Scheffler started on the back nine and made eight straight pars from the 10th through the 17th, the kind of stretch that lets a field think it has a chance.

Then came the par-5 18th, his ninth hole. From 233 yards, Scheffler hit an approach that finished about nine feet away and rolled in the eagle putt. Right after that, the horn sounded for threatening weather. Lightning moved in, followed by hours of rain from a storm system that sat over the Dallas area, and the delay stretched to six hours and 15 minutes.

Scheffler did not exactly suffer through it. "I made a few trips in there to player dining, had a good amount of food," he said, per Golf Digest.

Six Birdies After the Restart

When play resumed, Scheffler went from steady to surgical. He birdied six of his final nine holes, the front side at TPC Craig Ranch, and walked off with a 63 that pushed his lead to six. Through 36 holes, he had not made a bogey or a score higher than 4, and he hit 12 of 14 fairways on Friday, according to the PGA TOUR.

The numbers are absurd. His 124 is the 36-hole scoring record for this event by two shots, and it is one shot off the PGA TOUR record of 123 set by Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open. The six-shot cushion is also the largest 36-hole lead in tournament history, per the AP.

"Feeling good. I've had two nice days," Scheffler said, per the PGA TOUR. "Two more of those, and I should be in a good spot."

That might be the understatement of the spring. Scheffler is still chasing his first win of 2025, but he came into the week with five top 10s, tied for the most on TOUR, including a solo fourth at the Masters and a T8 at the RBC Heritage. "I feel like my game's in a good spot," he said.

Stevens Holds the Line

If anyone earned a gold star for keeping pace, it was Stevens, who did not make a bogey through 36 holes. Four birdies over the final six holes of the second round kept the margin at six instead of something uglier.

Stevens, still looking for a first PGA TOUR win, was refreshingly honest about the math. "He's already better than I am, so I don't need to spot him nine shots going into the weekend," Stevens said, per the PGA TOUR.

Mark Hubbard and Kitayama also signed for 65s in the second round, which pulled Kitayama into the chase pack.

Saturday Morning Cleanup

The storm turned the schedule into a puzzle. About half the field did not finish Friday, and 18 players had not even started their second rounds when the horn sounded. The last groups went off roughly 15 minutes before sunset, and play was called for darkness.

Castillo was the closest pursuer still on the course Friday night, sitting at 10 under, and he finished off a 66 on Saturday morning to post 11 under. Vegas, two back after the opening round, cooled off with a 69.

Scheffler said the course mostly held up despite the deluge. "There were some fairways that were pretty wet, but other than that, I think the golf course held up pretty well," he said.

A Hard Cut for the Champ

The cut fell at 5 under, and it caught the defending champion. Taylor Pendrith, who opened with 67, had his Friday tee time washed out and shot 71 on Saturday morning to finish at 4 under, one shot outside the number.

Jordan Spieth was safely inside. Spieth shot 67 to get to 6 under, where playing partner Si Woo Kim also sits, which leaves both 12 shots behind the man they played alongside for two days. Scheffler lapped them in a pairing that was billed as a hometown showcase.

Moving Day Without the Move

The third round goes off in threesomes from the 1st and 10th tees on Saturday afternoon, on a course still soft enough to give up low numbers. That is good news for the chase pack in theory. In practice, the scoring conditions help the leader just as much, and Scheffler has shown no interest in giving anything back.

Six shots with 36 holes to play is a lot, but not a guarantee. Somebody behind him needs a round in the low 60s to make this a tournament again.

Catch up on how Thursday unfolded 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 recaps and leaderboard), AP, Golf Digest, Field Level Media, Golf Channel, The Canadian Press. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.