08 May 2021: On a bright and sunny day at the Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Charlotte, the baked course and swirling 30 mph winds tested the nerve and nous of the golfers in the Wells Fargo Championship. 77 of the 156 golfers came through to the weekend with the cut falling at 2-over. Matt Wallace, Patrick Rodgers and Gary Woodland assumed a share of the lead at 6-under through 36 holes. Rory McIlroy produced the second best round on Friday, shooting five-under 66 to climb 68 places on the leaderboard. The best of the day belonged to Roger Sloan, who shot 64 to leap up to T14, a massive 124 spots, working off a 76.
Seasoned pros got wet in the water around the course and produced steam from their increasing frustration. Tony Finau, Jon Rahm and Francesco Molinari were among those that were served an early weekend.
Overnight leader Phil Mickelson fell to T10 with an eleven stroke swing on the wrong side. Kyoung Hoon Lee, lying second from Mickelson after the first round also suffered a 49 place slide with a second round 77. Keegan Bradley followed his opening 66 with a 75. McIlroy swung in the right direction moving inside the top 10 coming off two missed cuts.
Japanese Satoshi Kodaira is the leading Asian after two rounds. With a 72 in the second round, he is four off the pace going into the weekend.
Wallace has a lead or a share of it for the third time in his developing PGA TOUR career, where this week marks his 41st start. He was T1 after the third round of the Texas Open where he finished in third eventually, for his best result on the Tour. He was also T3 in the PGA Championship in 2019 and T4 at the Memorial Tournament last year. His last victory came on the European Tour at the Made in Denmark in 2018, one of four successes on that circuit.
Entering this week, Woodland hadn’t broken par in six straight rounds since the Masters. But a 2-under 69 on Friday when he posted four birdies to cover for two bogeys helped him gain a share of the lead for the seventh time in his career. The only time he managed to convert a lead/co-lead in his career was the US Open in 2019.
Three birdies and an eagle helped Rodgers to a 68 and a share of the lead. It is only his third lead/co-lead on the PGA TOUR. The last two times were both in 2017 when he finished second in the John Deere Classic and T14 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic. Rodgers has three runner-up finishes on the Tour, including one in the Wells Fargo Championhip, 2015. He lost a playoff in the 2018 RSM Classic.
Defending champion Max Homa suffered the cut, posting scores of 77-76.
Second-Round Leaderboard
Matt Wallace 69-67—136 (-6)
Gary Woodland 67-69—136 (-6)
Patrick Rodgers 68-68—136 (-6)
Kramer Hickok 68-69—137 (-5)
Leading Asian/Australian Scores
Satoshi Kodaira 68-72 – 140 (-2, T14)
Matt Jones 69-71 – 140 (-2, T14)
K.H. Lee 66-77 – 143 (+1, T51)
C.T. Pan 74-69 – 143 (+1, T51)
Course Statistics
Toughest Hole Easiest Hole
R1: Par-4 18th (4.316) Par-5 15th (4.568)
R2: Par-4 18th (4.519) Par-5 7th (4.545)
Bogey-free rounds
R1 (2): Keegan Bradley (66), Peter Malnati (67)
R2 (0): None
