Truist Championship Round 2: Keith Mitchell Survives the Soak as Shane Lowry Closes In

Thursday at Philadelphia Cricket Club was a birdie buffet. Friday was cold, wet and stingy, and Keith Mitchell still walked off the course with the lead.

Mitchell followed his course-record 61 with a 3-under 67 in the rain to reach 12-under 128 and hold a one-shot lead at the halfway point of the Truist Championship. Shane Lowry posted the round of the day, a 65, and sits alone in second at 11 under. Sepp Straka shot 67 and is third at 10 under. A logjam at 7 under includes Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Si Woo Kim, Collin Morikawa and Akshay Bhatia.

A Different Golf Course

Overnight rain soaked the Wissahickon Course, and the showers came and went all day with temperatures stuck in the 50s. The TOUR had already moved tee times up to get ahead of the weather, but there was no escaping it. The ball stopped rolling, and the modest par 4s that players attacked with short irons on Thursday suddenly asked for longer clubs. CBS Sports noted the scoring average climbed by more than three shots from the opening round.

That is the context for Mitchell's 67. It was not a repeat of Thursday's fireworks, but on a day built for giving shots back, it was the kind of round leaders need.

Mitchell Answers Every Punch

Mitchell got going early, with a three-hole birdie run from No. 3 through No. 5 that included putts from 25 and 18 feet, per Field Level Media. Mitchell made two bogeys along the way, but answered each one with a birdie on the very next hole. Five birdies, two bogeys, no spirals.

That bounce-back habit was the point, and Mitchell said as much. "If you get going in the wrong direction with momentum on a day like today, it can really catch you," Mitchell said.

Mitchell also sounded like someone who has learned from recent weekends. CBS Sports pointed out a 71.75 weekend scoring average over Mitchell's previous four starts, the flip side of all those fast Thursdays. Mitchell's response was simple, per the AP: "It's a four-round tournament. They don't give any points or money out on Thursday."

Lowry Owns the Weather

If anyone was built for a soggy day in the Northeast, it was the Irishman, and Lowry played like it. Lowry birdied four of the first eight holes, dropped a shot at the 10th, then got it right back in spectacular fashion with a 53-foot birdie at the 11th that hit the flagstick and dropped. A birdie at the 15th closed out a 65 with six birdies against a single bogey.

The ball striking backed it up. Lowry hit 14 of 18 greens and ranked second in the field in strokes gained on approach for the day, according to Field Level Media.

Asked whether rain suits his game, Lowry was not buying the stereotype. "No. Everyone says that to me every day when it rains," Lowry said.

Then there is Straka, the quietest name near the top all week. After an opening 63, Straka added a steady 67 on Friday and is two back, alone in third. In a week where the big names have been trading headlines, Straka has simply been stacking good rounds, which is a pretty reliable formula on a TOUR where the weather can change the test overnight.

McIlroy's Scrappy Pull

McIlroy's day was a strange mix. Six birdies, three bogeys, and a 67 that leaves the defending champion five back. The putter did the heavy lifting: McIlroy made a putt from just under 10 feet at the 12th, about 29 feet at the 14th, more than 17 feet at the 15th and nearly 28 feet at the 18th, and the PGA TOUR tallied 126 and a half feet of made putts for the round.

"I felt like today was another sort of scrappy one," McIlroy said, per the AP. "I made what I feel are some uncharacteristic mistakes compared to how I've played the majority of the year."

According to CBS Sports, McIlroy told Golf Channel he feels he is scoring well enough to contend but has to stop handing shots back. In a group five back with only 36 holes left, that is the needle he has to thread.

Morikawa's 70 deserves a mention too. A double bogey could have sunk the round, and instead Morikawa fought back to even par and stayed inside the top 10. Thomas matched McIlroy with a 67 to join that 7-under pack.

Who Got Washed Out

Not everyone handled the rain. Denny McCarthy, one shot back after an opening 62, slid to a 73 and fell to 5 under. Rickie Fowler, so sharp on Thursday, gave back ground and sits at 6 under. Will Zalatoris shot 75, Wyndham Clark 73, and Justin Rose struggled to a 77.

The Weekend Picture

There is no cut at this $20 million Signature Event, so all 72 players return on Saturday. The forecast calls for sunshine and wind, a third version of this golf course in three days. Mitchell has the lead and a new answer for the weekend question. Lowry has the best round of the tougher day. Straka has two steady cards. And a handful of the game's biggest names are five back with a lot of golf to play.

What we know after Friday: one shot separates the top two, and Saturday's wind will decide who still feels comfortable on a course that is no longer giving anything away.

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 details.

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

Photo: PGA TOUR.