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J.J. Spaun of the United States plays his shot from the 12th tee during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 29, 2026, in Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stacy Revere\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
FORT WORTH \u2014 No Jordan Spieth<\/a> at the 80th Charles Schwab Challenge, but there is a Jordan Smith, and the 33-year-old from England surged into the second-round lead on a humid Friday afternoon at Colonial Country Club.<\/p>\n Spieth and Scottie Scheffler are taking a break<\/a> from a highly congested PGA Tour spring schedule. They are missing a Colonial course that is yielding low scores at a historic rate.<\/p>\n Akshay Bhatia of the United States reacts after playing his shot from the ninth tee during the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 29, 2026, in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Stacy Revere\/Getty Images Brian Harman of the United States plays his shot from the sixth tee during the second round of the Charles\u00a0Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 29, 2026, in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Sam Hodde\/Getty Images Ryan Gerard of the United States putts on the fifth green during the second round of the Charles\u00a0Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on May 29, 2026, in Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Sam Hodde\/Getty Images<\/p>\n The cut at 2 under ties the record set in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Smith had a blistering start, eagling the par-5 No. 1 by knocking a 258-yard 5-wood to within 6 feet.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was going to come up short in the bunker, but just covered it and got a nice bounce,\u2019\u2019 Smith said. \u201cYou need that luck.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n A birdie at the par-3 No. 16 gave Smith the solo lead for the second time after his lone bogey of the tournament on No. 14 when mud on his ball produced a missed approach to the right.<\/p>\n \u201cRight of that pin and green is just dead,\u2019\u2019 Smith said.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cIt’s going to be a new experience for us out here leading for the first time,\u2019\u2019 said Smith, who is playing often with the goal of keeping his card. \u201c I’m excited. Just going to stick to what I’ve been doing the last two days and enjoy it.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Four players are tied for second, headed by former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. \u00a0He is joined at 9 under by Michael Thorbjornsen, Brian Harman and Ryan Gerard.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cOnce I’m in the fairway, I feel like I can score,\u2019\u2019 said Matsuyama, who has two top-10 finishes in 2026. \u201cIt hasn’t been that good recently but today it was, so everything came together.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0The 24-year-old Thorbjornsen, nicknamed Thunder Cub, attended Stanford and lives in Wellesley, Mass.<\/p>\n After missing some crucial putts in his second round at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson<\/a> last week that could have helped him avoid the cut, Thorbjornsen decided it was time for a new flat stick.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI needed something different. It’s a new grip, it’s a new kind of hosel and it’s a new face as well. It\u2019s the putter that I basically used in college. I feel like I have more feel just being a smaller grip. I feel like that helps a lot just with pace and speed, especially on those 8-footers.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n \u00a0J.J. Spaun can identify. The relationship with his putter is not always a happy one, either. The 2025 U.S. Open champion said he found himself \u201cresenting\u2019\u2019 his putter in the middle of a round.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s been my only issue all year,\u2019\u2019 he said after following up an opening round 64 on Thursday with a 68 on Friday and a tie for sixth at 8 under.<\/p>\n \u201cMy ball striking\u2019s been pretty solid. The weeks that I putt slightly better than average, I contend.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Spaun\u2019s answer was a putter change.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s nice to see the switch was a good change these first two rounds and hopefully keep it going this week, next week and into the U.S. Open.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n In Friday\u2019s round, Spaun turned in 4 under on his opening nine but his threesome was put on the clock early on his second nine.<\/p>\n \u201cJust kind of lost focus and tried to rush a lot.\u2019\u2019 The result was two shots lost to par.”<\/p>\n Spaun finished sixth last year at the Challenge and was part of a six-way tie for first after a 6-under 64 in the \u00a0opening round.<\/p>\n Akshay Bhatia is in a group of five at 8 under with a second-round 65, but afterward the 24-year-old, three-time PGA Tour winner was lamenting a lack of accuracy with his driver. He hit six of 14 fairways and is at 54% for 36 holes.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cI worked so hard last week, I probably hit 300 drivers just trying to get it dialed in or what feels like a better miss,” he said. “On the range I can hit it very solid and hit the same shape. Then once I\u2019m on the course I\u2019m struggling with it. I don\u2019t feel I\u2019m scared or anything. Subconsciously something is going on.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Notable: Dallas\u2019 Mac Meissner birdied his final two holes Friday to climb into a tie for 11th at 7 under. \u2026\u00a0Rickie Fowler moved into contention after carding a 4-under 31 on holes 10-18. But it was a different story on his final nine. Fowler made five bogeys and a double bogey on his finishing hole, No. 9, to miss the cut at 3 over. … TCU<\/a> alum Tom Hoge advanced to 5 under with a volatile round of 67 that included seven birdies and four bogeys. \u2026 Plano\u2019s Pierceson Coody holed an 89-yard approach shot for an eagle at No. 15 and made the cut on the number. \u2026 Dallas\u2019 Tom Kim, tied for the lead after Day 1<\/a>, slid to a 72 on Friday and is 4 under, tied with former\u00a0SMU<\/a> product Austin Smotherman and defending champion Ben Griffin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"J.J. 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