Beau Hossler accelerates, Paul Barjon falls into line

Still looking for his first success on the PGA Tour, 29-year-old Californian Beau Hossler signed the best card of the second round on Friday and takes control of the tournament with a one-shot lead over Floridian Daniel Berger. Less to his advantage than the day before, the Frenchman Paul Barjon fell back but will be present this weekend.

Birdies continue to rain down on the course Country Club of Jackson dans le Mississippiand at the end of the second day it is now two Americans who are leading the way.

The first is called Beau Hossler and since the beginning of the week has been demonstrating his attacks on the green with diabolical precision which allows him to post a total of 15 shots under par in 36 holes.

Friday he started his day with a bogey, his only false note in two rounds, before making 7 birdies and an eagle. Currently 87th in the FedEx Cup, the native of Mission Viejo in California could almost guarantee to finish the season in the top 125, and thus guarantee himself a playing right for 2025, with a podium in the second tournament of the FedEx Fall.

But with a record still devoid of victories, despite 7 seasons spent on the PGA Tour, there is no doubt that Hossler will have a hard time settling for runner-up status on Sunday.

The ghost’s ball

To lift his first trophy he will have to block the path of the returning two years his senior, Daniel Berger.

Injured in his back for more than two years, the four-time winner on the American circuit took time to regain his full strength. This week that seems to be the case as he admitted in the mixed zone after his game.

This is probably the first time I can say I’m 100%. These last two weeks, I have felt at my best. I’ve been playing a lot of golf and hitting it further.

Daniel Berger

The former Ryder Cup player, 149th in the FedEx, is in a position to take a decisive step in the prospect of saving his card for next year. After two rounds he is only one shot behind the leader, without having conceded the slightest bogey.

Another player who is trying to reconnect with his glorious past after serious health problems (operated for a brain tumor in September 2023), the winner of the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2019, Gary Woodland.

He too has still not made a mistake since the start of the week and his card of 68 on Friday leaves him in the wake of the leading men by 4 shots.

Woodland shares 6th place with another US Open winner, Lucas Glover and the former world number 1 amateur Michael Thorbjornsen.

Paul Barjon preserves hope

So brilliant putter in hand on Thursday with more than 38 meters put in during the first round, Paul Barjon was less successful on Friday. The Frenchman, who was in a good 5th place on the evening of the first day, fell to 55th place.

However, he will be at the start of the last two rounds, a first for the tricolor since mid-July, unlike Martin Trainer.

But to try to score valuable points, with a view to improving his 179th place in the FedEx Cup standings, Barjon will have to regain driving efficiency. Friday he only hit 4 fairways and was content with 10 greens in regulation.

Remember that to save his card he must enter the top 125 of the FedEx Cup on the evening of the eighth tournament of this series of cleaver events, on November 24 during the RSM Classic, on St. Simons Island, in Georgia.

Le leaderboard

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