Like first round co-leader Gary Woodland<\/a>, Spaun was mistake-free through 17 holes on Thursday only to bogey the par-4 18th. <\/p>\n He found redemption on that very hole on Friday, with a birdie that moved him into the solo lead at 10 under and helped him regain a little bit of lost momentum following back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 14 and 15.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was a nice way to end the day \u2014 kind of hit a little rough patch on 14, 15 with a poor three-putt and a poor second shot on 14,\u201d Spaun admitted. \u201cBut that\u2019s golf, it happens. It was good to hit a really good drive \u2014 I didn\u2019t think I could reach that bunker, the wind has just been everywhere bouncing north and south and from the west. But, yeah, to hit a nice little iron shot out of the bunker to about 5, 6 feet and pour it in was a good way to stop the bleeding and end a good round.\u201d<\/p>\n Something about the front nine at Bellerive suits Spaun a bit more than the back. He recorded three consecutive birdies before making the turn in his first round. On Friday, he did one better \u2014 circling four straight holes, Nos. 3 through 6. <\/p>\n \u201cWasn\u2019t really thinking much,\u201d said Spaun, who credited being in a great mental space heading over to the course. \u201cI kind of did something similar yesterday. I made like three birdies in a row. … hitting more quality shots and having more opportunities and then the putter\u2019s been cooperating really well these first two rounds, so birdies were flying early.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Gary Woodland kept the momentum going on Friday at Bellerive, putting together a bogey-free 65 but was outdone late by fellow U.S. Open champ Wyndham Clark, who carries the 36-hole lead into the weekend.<\/p>\n Crowded leaderboard<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy also grabbed a share of the lead Thursday but failed to keep pace a day later.<\/a><\/p>\n The world\u2019s No. 2-ranked player is now five shots behind Clark after a 69.<\/p>\n Clark took the solo lead late on Friday, completing 36 holes of bogey-free golf to enter the weekend at 12 under \u2014 one shot ahead of Woodland.<\/p>\n Chris Gotterup was among the 18-hole co-leaders and shot 67 in Round 2 to finish the day at 9 under, tied with Sungjae Im (64). Im was No. 40 in FedExCup points ahead of the BMW, and is now projected to make the field at East Lake.<\/a><\/p>\n![\"woodland-clark-spaun-split.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787382137_903_.jpeg\")
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