HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. -- Little-known Troy Merritt one-upped the Masters champion Jordan Spieth at the RBC Heritage.
Merritt shot a 10-under-par 61 on Friday to tie the course record at Harbour Town Golf Links only a few hours after Spieth wowed the gallery with a bounce-back 62 to match his lowest PGA Tour round.
Merritt tied David Frost's tournament mark set in 1994 and topped the leaderboard at 12-under 130, a stroke off the 36-hole event record shared by Jack Nicklaus and Phil Mickelson.
Merritt, who opened with a 69 on Thursday, saw Spieth's score in the morning and knew the opportunity was there to go low.
"Anytime that you match shot for shot with the Masters champ, with the way he's playing, it's a pretty good feeling," said Merritt, whose career best in four seasons on the PGA Tour is a tie for second last year at the St. Jude Classic.
Spieth looked like the headliner Friday, following a 74 on Thursday with the 62 -- which tied his career low set at the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2013.
The 21-year-old Texan has been on a major role the past month, winning the Valspar Championship and finishing second in San Antonio and Houston before capturing his first major title at Augusta National last week.
Spieth birdied his final two holes at Harbour Town on Friday, electrifying the crowds already there to cheer him, to shoot the lowest tournament round in 10 years -- until Merritt did him one better.
Merritt had nine birdies over his final 10 holes to surge on top and send Spieth six shots behind on a day of low scoring. Merritt ended his round with four consecutive birdies, including a 5-foot putt on the signature lighthouse hole, No. 18, to tie the course record.
Merritt was four shots ahead of Matt Kuchar and John Merrick. Kuchar had a 66 on Friday, and Merrick shot 65.
Past RBC Heritage winners and U.S. Open champions Graeme McDowell and Jim Furyk were 7 under along with Kevin Kisner. Furyk had a 64, Kisner shot 67, and McDowell 69.
Spieth was a stroke back at 6 under, tied for seventh in a pack that included former British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen, who shot a 67.
Bryce Molder (Conway) had seven birdies for a 7-under 64 and has a combined 4-under 138 through two rounds.
Glen Day (Little Rock) and Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State) did not make the cut.
LPGA
S.Y. Kim leads
KAPOLEI, Hawaii — Sei Young Kim shot a 2-under-par 70 on Friday in wind gusting to 30 mph to take a one-stroke lead in the Lotte Championship.
With the breeze making birdies elusive at Ko Olina, the 22-year-old South Korean player reached 12-under 204 to break out of a first-place tie with I.K. Kim.
Sei Young Kim will take a lead into the final round for the second consecutive tournament. Two weeks ago, she had a four-shot advantage in the ANA Inspiration and finished fourth in the major championship.
Sei Young Kim won in the Bahamas in February in her second start as an LPGA Tour member.
I.K. Kim was second after a 71. Third-ranked Inbee Park was another shot back after a 69.
The top five are all from South Korea, with Jenny Shin four shots back after a 70, and Chella Choi at 7 under after a 71.
American Paula Creamer (72) and Japan’s Ai Miyazato (71) were 6 under. Defending champion Michelle Wie (73) had five bogeys and four birdies to fall eight shots back in her home event.
EUROPEAN PGA
Uihlein leads by 1
SHENZHEN, China -- Peter Uihlein made five birdies in gusty conditions and shot a 4-under-par 68 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Shenzhen International.
The American started his round on the 10th hole and was 1 under on the back nine, where the strong wind made play more difficult. He then added three birdies on the front nine to finish at 9-under 135 total.
"It was tricky today. The wind was swirling quite a bit," said Uihlein, whose only previous victory on the European Tour came at the 2013 Madeira Islands Open. "I got the back nine out of the way pretty quickly. I played very solid. I felt like getting anything under par on the back nine was nice, and I played a pretty stress free front nine, which is always good."
Kiradech Aphibarnrat matched Uihlein's five birdies, but added two bogeys to shoot a 69 and finish one shot behind.
"Again, the wind was getting up on a few holes before I finished, but the way I was striking the ball is still very good," the Thai player said.
Emiliano Grillo matched the low round of the day with a 5-under 67 to move into a tie for third with Gregory Havret, Darren Fichardt and Matt Ford. They were three shots behind Uihlein at 6-under 138.
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson shot a 2-over 74 to slip into a tie for 42nd. He made the cut, but was unimpressed by his form.
"It's tough," Watson said. "I haven't played very well. I haven't putted very well. But it's a beautiful golf course."
Watson was at 144 overall, nine shots behind Uihlein.
WEB.COM
Pair share lead
LEON, Mexico -- Peter Malnati and Casey Wittenberg shared the lead Friday after the second round of the El Bosque Mexico Championship. Both men had 4-under-par 68s on Friday to add to their opening 65s.
That put them a 11-under 133, one stroke better than Kevin Tway, who had two 5-under 67s. Chase Wright and Luke List are tied for fourth at 8-under-par and three off the pace.
Sebastian Cappelen (Arkansas Razorbacks) had a 1-under 71 (5-under 139). Andrew Landry (Razorbacks) had an even-par round of 72 (3-under 141). Zach Fischer (Little Rock) had a 1-under 71 (1-under 143). Tag Ridings (Razorbacks) did not make the cut.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Rain suspends play
DULUTH, Ga. -- Ian Woosnam was tied for the lead at 4 under with five holes left Friday when first-round play in the Champions Tour's Greater Gwinnett Championship was suspended because of rain.
The round is scheduled to be completed this morning at TPC Sugarloaf, followed by the second round. There is more rain in the forecast today and Sunday.
Woosnam, playing in the event for the first time, was tied with Tommy Armour III, Joey Sindelar, Gary Hallberg and Olin Browne. Armour and Hallberg had four holes left, Sindelar three and Browne six.
Defending champion Miguel Angel Jimenez was even par through 11 holes. Bernhard Langer, second last year after winning the inaugural tournament in 2013, was 1 under through 12.
Only one group completed the first round, with Tom Byrum the clubhouse leader after shooting a 3-under-par 69.
Water was standing on the greens when play was halted. Hallberg said fairways were "unplayable."
Sports on 04/18/2015