Ben Crane sank a 14-foot birdie putt on his last hole of the day, No. 9, to cap a 7-under-par 63 and take a one-stroke lead over Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka, Bud Cauley and Sergio Garcia of Spain midway through the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.
Crane, who claimed the last of his give PGA Tour victories two years ago in the FedEx St. Jude Classic, made six birdies in a span of eight holes through No. 6 and made his only bogey two holes later.
“A great way to finish and just kind of good continuation of all the good stuff that was happening throughout the day,” said Crane, who holed a 70-foot bunker shot for a birdie on the fourth hole.
“I’ve been struggling really for three years now, but intermittent bits of encouragement. This has been one of those weeks where I feel like my game is really coming around.”
Spieth, bouncing back from his Masters meltdown and a missed cut in the Players Championship, had five birdies after starting on the back nine in a 65, while first-round leader Garcia followed a 63 with a 66 and has not made a bogey in the first 36 holes.
“It hasn’t been that long,” said Spieth, who lives nearby in Dallas. “The Masters felt like it was quite a while ago and that’s why it almost feels like, that’s why I’m getting the questions, ‘Was it nice to have your name back (near the) top?’ Well, I mean (it was) two tournaments ago.
“With the size of the greens, my misses are still holding the greens. I’ve had so many 40-footers out here I’ve managed to get in in two putts. I started to feel a bit better about it in the last few holes. Great sign. … When I stand over my putter right now, it’s back to where we like to have it.”
Koepka, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, birdied two of the last three holes in a 64, while Cauley, who has never won on the PGA Tour, collected five birdies in seven holes while finishing a 65 on the front nine.
Wes Roach posted a 66 and was two strokes back in sixth, followed another shot behind by Bryce Molder, who had five birdies in a span of seven holes while shooting 65.
Koepka, whose only PGA Tour victory came in the 2015 Waste Management Phoenix Open, birdied two of the last three holes in a 64, while Cauley, who has never won on the PGA Tour, collected five birdies in seven holes while finishing a 65 on the front nine.
Wes Roach posted a 66 and was two strokes back in sixth, followed another shot behind by Bryce Molder, who had five birdies in a span of seven holes while shooting 65.
Patrick Rodgers of Stanford carded a 65 and was four strokes down in a tie for eighth with Dustin Johnson (68), Matt Kuchar (67), Danny Lee (69) of New Zealand, Freddie Jacobson (68) of Sweden, Tom Hoge (68), Adam Hadwin (66) of Canada and Hudson Swafford (66).
