Jason Kokrak has never won on the PGA Tour, but he looked like a winner on Friday.
Kokrak carded a bogey-free 8-under-par 62, the lowest score of his career, to build a five-stroke lead over Billy Horschel midway through the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Four Seasons Resort in Fort Worth, Texas.
When Kokrak sank a seven-foot putt to save par on the 18th hole, he tied the tournament’s 36-hole record of 12-under 128 set by Ben Crane in 2012.
“Any time you can have a bogey-free round on any golf course on the PGA Tour, it’s awesome,” said Kokrak, who won the Albertson’s Boise Open and the Miccosuke Open on what is now the Web.com Tour, both in 2011. “I made a lot of birdies out there and it was nice.
“I’m normally a pretty aggressive player and that’s how I played today. You know, I very rarely go away from the flags but I know when and where. If a shot fits my eye or I see it, I like to pull the trigger.
“You got the No. 1 player in the world chasing you. You got X number of other players that are outstanding players. They’re all chasing me. Same game plan–just give myself birdie opportunities.”
Horschel, who has won three time on the PGA Tour but not since the 2014 Tour Championship to claim the FedExCup, birdied his last three holes for a 65, while top-ranked Dustin Johnson shot 67 and is six shots behind in a tie for third with Byeong Hung An (66) of South Korea, Cameron Tringale (68) of Laguna Niguel, Bud Caley (67), first-round leader James Hahn (71) of Alameda and Cal, and Jhonattan Vegas (68) of Venezuela.
Grayson Murray posted a bogey-free 63 and is another shot behind in a tie for ninth with Chad Campbell, who totaled 67, Morgan Freeman, who had a 66, and Peter Malnati, who came in at 68.
Fourth-ranked Jason Day of Australia finished at 69 and was in a tie for 14th, while fifth-ranked Sergio Garcia, the defending champion who won the Masters last month, had a 65 and was tied for 25th.
Sixth-ranked Jordan Spieth hit two drives out of bounds on the 16th hole to record a quadruple-bogey 9 and finished at 68-75–143 to miss the cut by one stroke. He missed the cut in two straight events for the first time since 2015.
