Jon Rahm continues to play and act like a man far beyond his 22 years.
The Spaniard, one year out of Arizona State, kick-started his second round with a 12-foot eagle putt on his ninth hole to the day and shot 5-under-par 66 to take a two-stroke lead over Kyle Stanley, Paul Casey of England, Kevin Streelman and Adam Hadwin of Canada in the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston in Norton, Mass.
“On my first nine, felt like I hit some good shots but maybe misjudged the wind a couple of times and ended up with par or bogey putts instead of birdie putts,” said Rahm, who is fifth in the FedEx Cup standings halfway through the second playoff event. “Then I made the eagle putt here on 18 and everything just started to click. I just started flushing everything and ended up with result I did.
“I’ve got four guys in front of me (in the point standings) with three-plus wins this season, including majors and World Golf Championships. I’ve got one win and a bunch of top 10s, not that far off, and its great to be close and maybe under the radar. But now that I have the lead, maybe I’m not under the radar any more.
“Every day is a new day and tomorrow if the weather is a good like today, I just have to play good golf to stay ahead, and if it’s windy and rainy it will be a tough day to keep the lead.”
Rahm, No. 5 in the world rankings, collected five birdies while finishing on the front nine, has a 36-hole total of 9-under 133.
Stanley had eight birdies and five bogeys in his 68, while Casey, Hadwin and Streelman, who sank a 31-footbirdie putt on his last hole, all totaled 65 and are another shot back in a tie for third.
Phil Mickelson, battling to make the United States team for the Presidents Cup later this month, posted a 67 and is three behind in a tie for fifth with Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, who also had a 67, and Marc Leishman of Australia, who finished at 69, and Grayson Murray, who wound up a 68.
Second-ranked Jordan Spieth bounced back from a 72 by shooting 65 and is four down in a tie for ninth with Justin Rose (65), Hudson Swafford (68), Kevin Na (69) of Diamond Bar and Patrick Cantlay (68) of Los Alamitos and UCLA.
Top-ranked Dustin Johnson, the firs-round leader at 66 and the points leader, struggled to a 72 and is in a tie for 15th that includes sixth-ranked Justin Thomas, who had a 67.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, also the 2016 FedExCup winner, finished at 72-74 and missed the cut by one stroke.
