Brian Harman poured in eight birdies amid a six-under-par 66 to take over first place halfway through the Valero Texas Open on Friday in San Antonio.
Harman's second straight 66 pushed him to 12-under 132 at TPC San Antonio Oaks Course, and by Friday evening that was good for a four-shot lead over Keith Mitchell (72).
First-round leader Sam Ryder struggled to a 74 and sits in a tie for third at 7 under with Englishman Matt Wallace and Japan's Ryo Hisatsune (both 67).
Patrick Cantlay shot a 67 and shares sixth place at six under par with several other golfers. Two-time Texas Open winner Zach Johnson, 49, posted a 68 and is hanging around at five under.
Pádraig Harrington and Seamus Power both finished well outside the cut mark of -2, after a 74 and 76 respectively, and will not play at next weekend's Masters as a result, leaving Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry as the sole Irish representatives for the second year in a row.
Power looked like he might be in contention after birdieing the first and moving to -1 but he had dropped two shots by the turn and left three more on the back nine.
Harrington shot four bogeys around back-to-back birdies on 15 and 16.
Harman, the 2023 Open Championship winner, is trying to take good form into the first major of 2025.
Harman is already slated for Augusta National, but if a player not already invited wins the Texas Open, he would qualify for the Masters.
Harman said of his play in San Antonio: "It's been pretty good, controlling my distances nicely. It's one of the demands this place makes on you. You have to really have control of your ball. Ball lands on the green, they're a lot firmer than they seem, and if you're playing from out of position, it's really tough."
Through nine prior events this season, Harman has yet to register a top-10 finish. He missed the cut at The Players Championship in mid-March before taking a break from the tour.
"It has been a slow start, a little uncharacteristic," Harman said of his season. "I've been pretty frustrated. I haven't really been able to put my finger on what it is that's kind of holding me back. So nice to take a couple weeks off and regroup and at least have a couple nice days so far."
Mitchell finished the day with five birdies and five bogeys.
The cut line of -2 prevented several other notable names from reaching the weekend, including Sweden's Ludvig Aberg (even par), defending champion Akshay Bhatia (even par), Japan's Hideki Matsuyama (1 over), Max Homa (3 over), South Korea's Tom Kim (4 over) and Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick (4 over).
