J.T. Poston rode a late scoring blitz to post 65 and secure a share of the halftime lead alongside Matti Schmid at the Shriners Children’s Open.
Poston’s round got off to a sluggish start and was just 1 under on the day standing on the 13th tee. But a birdie on the par-5 14th was followed by a birdie-eagle-birdie run on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to reach 13 under.
“Yeah, the whole back nine feels like you got a lot of chances, especially if you’re hitting the fairway,” said Poston, who owns two PGA Tour wins.
“Nice to get the round going there on 14, make a good one, knowing 15, 16 are very gettable. Good to take advantage of it.”
Schmid posted a bogey-free round of 65 and is the only player without a bogey through 36 holes.
Rico Hoey (66) and Norman Xiong (65) shared third on 12 under, one clear of Ryan McCormick (66), who rounded out the top 5 on the board.
Overnight leader Taylor Pendrith struggled to a 71 and dropped back to T6 alongside Harris English (65), Scott Piercy (67), and Alejandro Tosti (66).
2024 Shriners Children’s Open
Top 10 Leaders: 36 Holes
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
1. J.T. Poston -13 (-6)
1. Matti Schmid -13 (-6)
3. Rico Hoey -12 (-5)
3. Norman Xiong -12 (-6)
5. Ryan McCormick -11 (-5)
6. Harris English -10 (-6)
6. Scott Piercy -10 (-4)
6. Alejandro Tosti -10 (-5)
6. Taylor Pendrith -10 (E)
10. Patrick Fishburn -9 (-6)
10. Mark Hubbard -9 (-2)
10. Matt Kuchar -9 (-5)
PGA Tour media press release and post-round notes used to compile recap.
