On Friday at a sun-splashed TPC San Antonio, Cameron Tringale posted a second-round score of 3-under 69 and will take a two-shot lead into the weekend at the Valero Texas Open.
The 33-year old Georgia Tech product finished his second day in south Texas with a card comprised of four bogeys, seven pars and seven birdies, highlighted by a run of five straight on Nos. 13-17 to reach 10-under par.
“I knew I made a nice birdie on 13, a tough par 3. But then 14 was pretty easy, easy hole today,” said Tringale, when asked to describe his birdie binge.
“Then I just hit a lot of really good iron shots to those holes. I think my furthest putt was four feet after 13, so just good approaches to the green. Still gotta roll those in, but was able to do it.
“But then I looked back and I thought, ‘wow, that was five in a row and I didn’t even birdie 18,’ which is probably the easiest of all of them.”
Neither Matt Wallace or Jordan Spieth made birdie on 18 either, but were just two off the pace and tied for second on 7-under par.
Wallace, who plays fulltime on the European Tour, signed for a bogey-free round of 68, which included two birdies and seven pars per side.
“Very happy,” said Wallace when asked for his thoughts on his round. “Whenever you go bogey free, whatever golf course it is, it’s nice, but especially here.
“Wind’s picking up now, greens are firming up. I drove it nice for the most part of the day and felt comfortable. I’ve been feeling comfortable about my game for a while now, just trying to hole a few more putts and keep the scoring going and making the right putts at the right time.”
Home hero Spieth, meanwhile, joined the Englishman at T2 with a round of 2-under 70. The former Texas Longhorn finished with two bogeys against four birdies – two sets of back-to-backs (Nos. 1-2 and 14-15) to reach 7 under at the halfway point.
Two further back was Erik van Rooyen, who opened with a bogey and closed with one but in between was brilliant, carding 10 pars and six birdies, including four gains in a five-hole stretch on his outward nine, en route to a 4-under 68.
“I think I’m — everything’s just ticking rather nicely,” said the South African, who finished T9 at last week’s match play event in Austin.
“I’ve been working on some great stuff as always. This game, it’s going to be — it’s going to be a rollercoaster sometimes. You’re going to play really well and you’re going to play bad at some points and it’s just kind of trying to ride that out.”
Kyle Stanley (68), and Kevin Stadler (70) were also 5 under, and shared fourth-place with van Rooyen.
Matt Kuchar (70) and overnight leader Camilo Villegas (74) headlined a six-player logjam at 4 under.
THE 2021 VALERO TEXAS OPEN
LEADERBOARD: TOP 10
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
1. Cameron Tringale -10 (-3)
2. Matt Wallace -7 (-4)
2. Jordan Spieth -7 (-2)
4. Kyle Stanley -5 (-4)
4. Erik van Rooyen -5 (-4)
4. Kevin Stadler -5 (-2)
7. Lucas Glover -4 (-5)
7. Doc Redman -4 (-4)
7. Anirban Lahiri -4 (-3)
7. Matt Kuchar -4 (-2)
7. Brandon Hagy -4 (-2)
7. Camilo Villegas -4 (+4)
Round-2’S Best & Worst
Not cumulative. Round 2 only.
66 – Charley Hoffman
82 – Carlos Sainz Jr.
Birdies
7 – Cameron Tringale
0 – Henrik Norlander
Bogeys
0 – Matt Wallace
7 – Satoshi Kodaira
Stats Best/Woest
Cumulative thru 36 holes
Driving
Best – Gary Woodland (326)
Wrst – KJ Choi (265)
Fairways
Best – Chase Seiffert (23/28, 82%)
Wrst – Tony Finau (7/28, 25%)
Greens
Best – Aaron Wise (29/36, 81%)
Wrst – Carlos Sainz Jr. (12/36, 33%)
