SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Conducting the final act of his Friday masterpiece, Jon Rahm stood in a bunker beneath the ninth green. From his predicament, Rahm was short-sided, needing to float a shot with just enough touch to give himself a makeable par putt. Eight feet would have been good. Five feet would have been great. Instead, Rahm rolled the ball to 15 inches. When he tapped in, he raised his putter to a hollering crowd, drawing the type of cheers that come when you enter the weekend at 8 under.
Conducting the final act of his Friday masterpiece, Scottie Scheffler looked down over that same green, two groups and 30 minutes later. From his perch on the right side of the fairway, he had 160 yards to the hole. No problem. Scheffler stopped his ball on a dime, three feet short of the hole. From there, his seventh birdie of a bogey-free day was a formality. His weekend will be begin at 10 under.
