(Reuters) – Michael Thompson caught up with Richy Werenski in the second round of the 3M Open on Friday, with the two Americans sharing the top of the leaderboard heading into Saturday in Blaine, Minnesota.
The 28-year-old Werenski carded a four-under-par 67, as he continued to fight for his first-ever PGA Tour victory amid windy conditions at TPC Twin Cities.
“Seems like there’s a lot of crosswinds out here, so you’ve got to kind of really do a good job of picking the shot you want to hit and I’ve done a good job of that this week,” Werenski said.
“A lot of trouble left with the wind off the right. You’ve got to decide if you’re going to hit a draw or kind of hold it into the wind, so there’s a lot of that going on.”
Thompson, who came back from the tour’s coronavirus hiatus to finish eighth at the RBC Heritage, shot 197 yards to the green on 17 before sinking a more-than 19-foot putt for birdie on the par 3.
“The big thing is just try not to overpower the golf course, stay within myself, make good, comfortable swings, aggressive swings to good targets, be aggressive to pins when I can,” Thompson told reporters.
Tony Finau, who finished eighth at the Memorial Tournament last week, holed out for an eagle on six, shooting a five-under-par 66 for the day, one stroke back from the leaders.
“When you shoot two rounds in the 60, it doesn’t matter how the conditions are playing, you know you’re playing good golf,” said Finau. “And it’s been two really clean rounds for me. You can always build off that.”
Finau heads into Saturday tied with Talor Gooch, who put up a flawless round with six birdies.
(Reporting By Amy Tennery; Editing by William Mallard)
