On Thursday, David Lingmerth had a bogey-free round going as he made his way to the final hole, but finally dropped a shot on the par-3 ninth to finish with a five-under 65. Through 17 holes of Friday’s second round he was once again without a blemish, and this time, it would stay that way. Lingmerth birdied his final hole, the par-4 18th, for a second straight five-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead at 10-under 130 at the Quicken Loans National.
It was a scorcher at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm outside Washington D.C., with little to no wind early in the day, allowing a normally difficult golf course to produce low scores from the morning wave. Lingmerth, 29, took advantage right away, making birdie on three of his first five holes and turning in three-under 32. He opened his back nine with another birdie on the par-5 10th after chipping his third shot to tap-in range, and followed with seven straight pars and a birdie on the 18th. The Swede has had plenty of opportunities thanks to his play off the tee, hitting 22 of 28 fairways over the first two rounds, something he said is essential to success at TPC Potomac.
He would know better than anyone. The 2015 Memorial Tournament winner captured his lone Web.com Tour victory on the Maryland track at the 2012 Neediest Kids Championship. A win this week would be the second of his career on the main tour.
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The surprise of the first 36 holes has been 2006 US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, who posted a five-under 65 on Friday and sits at eight-under 132 for the tournament, two off the lead. The Aussie has just one top-10 finish this season, coming at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November, where he tied for fourth. Ogilvy, who turned 40 three weeks ago, has won eight times on tour but not since the 2014 Barracuda Championship.
At six-under 134 is Daniel Summerhays, who followed his first-round four-under 66 with a two-under 68. The Utah native is playing in his 189th event on the US PGA Tour and still in search of his first victory.
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Five shots back at five-under 135 are India’s Arjun Atwal and South Korea’s Sung Kang. It’s just the third appearance on the US Tour this season for Atwal, who hasn’t finished in the top-25 since October 2012. Kang, 30, has put together a strong season, with two top-10s, seven top-25s and a solo second at the Shell Houston Open.
The weekend should bring some extra pressure, with the Quicken Loans National being the first of three events that are part of the British Open qualifying series. Spots are available for the four leading finishers not otherwise exempt who finish in the top-12 and ties. As it stands, the aforementioned four currently fit this criteria, and would earn their spots at Royal Birkdale if the tournament had ended today.
