Bryson DeChambeau missed a 6-foot birdie putt that would have secured a 59 for the 13th sub-60 round in PGA Tour history, on a day when joint first round leader Rory McIlroy lost ground.
DeChambeau had to settle for a 12-under 60 that gave him sole possession ofthe lead when play was suspended due to darkness at the BMW Championship on Friday.
"I misread the putt, but it was an awesome opportunity," DeChambeau told GolfChannel after the round. "I had a couple of shots, a couple of opportunitieson 17 and 18, and it didn't happen. But still really proud of the way I handled myself. It's great to feel pressure again, which is awesome."
It would have marked the first 59 on tour since Scottie Scheffler at TheNorthern Trust in 2020 and the third 59 in FedEx Cup playoffs history.
DeChambeau made eagle at the par-5 fourth and 16th holes at Caves Valley GolfClub in Owings Mills, Md., and added eight birdies without a bogey.
The round put DeChambeau at 16 under through two rounds. He held a one-shot advantage over Patrick Cantlay (63 on Friday) and Spain's Jon Rahm, who was 7under for his round through 15 holes, when play was suspended.
His second shot at16 was among the highlights of his round. After finding the rough off the tee, he had 252 yards to the pin. His shot rolled to the back of the green, caught a downslope and trickled to within three feet for his eagle, putting him in position for a 59.
Needing just one birdie for a 59 - or two birdies for the second 58 in tour history - he instead settled for par on each of the final two holes.
The 16th wasn't the only place DeChambeau rescued himself out of the rough. He hit only half of all fairways in regulation but still landed 16 of 18 greensin regulation.
"A lot of putts went in. A lot of things went right," he said. "We got a lot of great numbers out of the rough today, and I played my butt off and never thought too much about anything until the last few holes."
As for McIlroy, well he couldn't follow up on his excellent opening round of 64. Bogeys at five and ten and three birdies elsewhere saw him sign for a 70. That leaves him on 10-under, six shots behind DeChambeau.
Shane Lowry carded a four-under 68 to move to five under for the tournament.
