WM Phoenix Open Round 2: Ryo Hisatsune Chips In From Trouble and Takes the Lead

Ryo Hisatsune hit his tee shot into the pond at the 17th on Friday and walked off the green with a birdie. That is the kind of day it was for the 23-year-old at TPC Scottsdale.

Hisatsune shot a bogey-free 8-under 63 to reach 11-under 131 and take a one-shot lead at the halfway point of the WM Phoenix Open. Hideki Matsuyama, the two-time champion here, is alone in second at 10 under after a 64. First-round leader Chris Gotterup and Pierceson Coody are tied for third at 8 under, and a crowd of six sits at 7 under, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Si Woo Kim, Jake Knapp and Sahith Theegala.

Six Under in Five Holes

Hisatsune was already moving before the fireworks. Two birdies on the front nine got him to 5 under for the tournament, and then the back nine turned into a highlight reel. He birdied 13 and 14, holed an 8-foot eagle putt at the par-5 15th, and rolled in a 7-footer for birdie at the par-3 16th in front of the stadium crowd. That is 6 under across five holes.

Then came the short par-4 17th. Hisatsune pulled his tee shot into the pond, took his drop, and chipped in for birdie. The TOUR named it the shot of the day, and it is hard to argue. A hole that could have stalled the round instead pushed him into the solo lead.

The form is real. Hisatsune tied for second at Torrey Pines last week, and he posted four top-10 finishes as a rookie last season, according to the AP. He did miss the cut at the season-opening Sony Open, which makes the last two weeks look even more like a breakthrough.

Matsuyama's Morning Run

Matsuyama set the target early. Playing in the morning wave after a bogey-free 68 on Thursday, he caught fire with six straight birdies, a run that included the par-5 13th, a short one at the 14th after an approach to 3 feet, and a 29-foot birdie putt at the 16th. He shot 6-under 30 on the back nine, and he gave one back with a bogey at the par-4 ninth.

For a while, Matsuyama owned the lead at 10 under. Hisatsune passed him in the afternoon, but Matsuyama has a comfortable history at this event. He won it in 2016 and 2017, and he has never missed the weekend in Scottsdale, per CBS Sports.

Gotterup Holds On

Gotterup did not have Thursday's magic. After his opening 63, he shot even-par 71 on Friday, a round CBS Sports described as a grind with a few mistakes. He still sits three back in a tie for third, and with 36 holes to go that is a perfectly good place to be.

Coody joined him there with a 68. Behind them, the most eye-catching number belonged to Kim, who followed a 73 with a 62, the low round of the day, to jump into the group at 7 under. Fitzpatrick, after Thursday's 65, slowed down but stayed in that same pack.

Scheffler Answers

After Thursday's 73, the questions about Scottie Scheffler were real. He answered them with a bogey-free 6-under 65 that moved him to 4 under and safely into the weekend.

The fix, per the TOUR, was a grip adjustment that gave him better control. The numbers showed it. Scheffler hit 16 of 18 greens after a Thursday in which he lost strokes in nearly every category, and he made more than 70 feet of putts. He opened with four pars, birdied the fifth, added an 18-footer at the ninth and finished with a 92-yard approach to 3 feet for birdie at the 18th.

"This is a golf course where you can't really force it," Scheffler said, per the PGA TOUR.

He is seven shots behind Hisatsune, which is a lot. It is also not a lot for a player with Scheffler's recent record. His run of made cuts, the longest active streak on TOUR, lives on.

The Cut and the Casualties

The cut fell at 1 under, with Collin Morikawa among those right on the number. Brooks Koepka was not so lucky. The two-time Phoenix Open champion followed his opening 75 with a 69 and finished at 2 over, heading home Friday in his second event since returning to the PGA TOUR. Jordan Spieth, Corey Conners, Billy Horschel and Sam Burns also missed, per CBS Sports, as did Joel Dahmen.

The Weekend Picture

The top of this board is a mix of hot streaks and course history. Hisatsune has the lead and the momentum. Matsuyama has two trophies from this place. Gotterup has already won once this year. Scheffler is lurking at a distance that would worry anyone who has watched him the last two years.

Saturday at TPC Scottsdale is usually the loudest day of the week, and the leader is a 23-year-old in his first real spotlight at this event. How Hisatsune handles that noise will shape the rest of the tournament.

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, Scheffler and cut line stories, leaderboard), AP, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.