Birdies galore as Barracuda Championship heats up

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Birdies galore as Barracuda Championship heats up

Mac Meissner had eight birdies in a 16-point round to take the second-round lead in the Barracuda Championship, the only PGA Tour event that uses the modified Stableford scoring system.

Making his 23rd PGA Tour start, Meissner birdied five of his first seven holes and capped the round with a 17-foot birdie putt on the par-4 ninth on Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood layout.

“I’ve driven it well,” said the 25-year-old Meissner. “Taken advantage of a lot of good iron shots. It was nice to see a couple of putts fall today. It’s been frustrating the last month or so.”

Meissner had 26 points for a one-point lead over J.J. Spaun, with players receiving eight points for a double eagle, five for eagle and two for birdie. A point is deducted for bogey and three for double bogey.

“I think it allows you to be a little bit more aggressive just because birdies are worth more than a bogey hurts you,” Meissner said. “I definitely have been a little bit more aggressive to tucked pins than I probably would normally be on a Friday or coming into the weekend.”

Spaun had a 13-point day. He won the 2022 Texas Open for his only PGA Tour title.

“Kind of kept the ball in front of me, not too many mistakes,” Spaun said. “Made a lot of good putts when I needed to. Just kind of stayed out of trouble.”

********* Taylor Pendrith, Sean O’Hair and Chan Kim had 24 points, one more than Max Greyserman and S.H. Kim.

Pendrith – at No.36, the highest-ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings in the field – won at Colonial in May for his first PGA Tour title.

“I feel fresh. I’ve had two weeks off,” Pendrith said. “Came here, didn’t really do a lot of prep. The mind is feeling refreshed.”

The 42-year-old O’Hair won the last of his four PGA Tour titles in 2011. He’s making his eighth start of the season.

“My opportunities are kind of far and few between, so I have to kind of take advantage of every opportunity possible,” O’Hair said.

First-round leader Ben Silverman tumbled into a tie for 34th with 16 points, losing three points in the round. Playing in the final group of the day off the first tee, the ********* had five bogeys and one birdie.

With three weeks left in the FedEx Cup regular season, Meissner is 103rd, Spaun 151st, O’Hair 185th and Kim 96th. The top 70 will advance to the playoffs.

None of the *********** contingent made the cut.

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