Zurich Classic Round 2: Salinda and Velo Survive Alternate Shot as Novak and Griffin Close In

Alternate shot was supposed to expose the rookies. Instead, Isaiah Salinda and Kevin Velo bent a little on Friday at TPC Louisiana and never broke.

A day after their tournament-record 58, Salinda and Velo shot a 3-under 69 in Foursomes to reach 17-under 127 and keep the lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. It is a one-shot lead now, though, because Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin posted a 66, tied for the best score of the day, to climb to 16 under. Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard are third at 15 under after a 70, Jacob Bridgeman and Chandler Phillips are fourth at 14 under, and the defending champions, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, sit six back at 11 under.

The Rookies Hold the Wheel

The start did not look like a team protecting a lead. Salinda and Velo opened on the back nine and made the turn at 1 over, the kind of stretch that turns a Thursday record into a Friday footnote. Then they flipped it. Four birdies on the front nine, the easier side of the course, pulled them back in front.

"Overall, really solid," Velo said, per the AP. "We feed off each other really easily, and I know how to club off him, and we're talking through shots out there."

Salinda went further. "I think alternate shot is kind of our strength," Salinda said.

That is a bold claim from two players who just set the Four-ball scoring record, and Friday backed it up. A 69 in this format is not flashy, but it is the score of a team that did not panic when the round started sideways.

Novak and Griffin Crash the Party

The move of the day belonged to Novak and Griffin. They opened with a 62 on Thursday, which left them tied for seventh, and then went out and played alternate shot like it was better ball. Novak said the pair made seven birdies on Friday, and the 6-under 66 matched Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin for the low round in Foursomes.

"There was really only one hole out there I felt like we were in trouble at any point really," Novak said, per the AP.

Novak arrived in New Orleans hot. Last week at the RBC Heritage, Novak lost a playoff to Justin Thomas, a second straight top-three finish. Griffin, the other half of the pairing, is chasing a first TOUR title too, and the two have now put themselves one swing off the lead at the halfway point.

Twins Still Lurking

The Højgaards came back to earth after their bogey-free 59, but only a little. Their 70 kept them at 15 under, two back, and CBS Sports noted that the Danish brothers missed several short putts while still striking it well. In a format where one ball does all the work, leaving strokes on the greens is the kind of thing that feels fixable overnight.

Bridgeman and Phillips posted a 68 to sit alone in fourth, and Ryo Hisatsune and Takumi Kanaya share fifth at 13 under with David Skinns and Ben Taylor. Taylor and Hadwin's 66 lifted them into a big group at 12 under that also includes Aaron Rai and Sahith Theegala.

Rory and Shane Slip Late

For 12 holes, the defending champions looked like the team to fear. McIlroy and Lowry eagled the par-5 second and were 6 under through a dozen, a pace that would have put them right on top of the board.

Then the closing stretch bit them. They made bogeys on the par-4 13th, the par-3 17th and the par-5 18th, finishing 3 over for their last six holes and signing for 69. That left them at 11 under, six behind Salinda and Velo. In alternate shot, a three-bogey finish is not a crisis, but it turned a statement round into a holding pattern.

A Cut That Took Out Big Names

The cut fell at 10 under, a number you do not see every week, and it claimed some serious talent. Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama opened with a 61 on Thursday and then shot 75, finishing at 8 under and missing the weekend by two. Per the PGA TOUR, the miss ended Morikawa's streak of 24 consecutive made cuts. The damage came on the front nine, where Kitayama's tee shots on Nos. 4 and 6 found the water and the team made double bogey on both holes.

Wyndham Clark and Taylor Moore, Joel Dahmen and Harry Higgs, and Joe Highsmith and Alejandro Tosti also went home. Akshay Bhatia and Carson Young were undone by a triple bogey on the par-5 18th. The brother acts of Yannik and Jeremy Paul and Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick missed out as well.

Back to Better Ball

Saturday returns to Four-ball, the format that produced a 58 and a 59 on Thursday, so a one-shot lead means very little. Salinda and Velo have proven they can go low in better ball. Novak and Griffin have proven they can get hot in any format. The Højgaards have already shown what they do when two balls are in play.

Thirty-six holes in, the rookies are still in front, and the chasing pack just got a lot more dangerous.

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, cut story and leaderboard), AP, CBS Sports. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.