Koepka happy to hold halfway lead

Brooks Koepka may have lost momentum but is happy to hold the halfway lead at the Tour Championship.

World number one Brooks Koepka (29/20 Fav – Outright Winner) says he will take being one shot ahead at the midway point of the Tour Championship after battling through a weather-affected second round.

American Koepka ended Thursday’s opening round in a share of the lead alongside compatriots Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas after shooting a three-under-par 67, leaving the trio on -10 due to the revamped FedEx Cup system.

The 29-year-old, who successfully defended his US PGA Championship this year to take his major tally to four, hit four birdies and one bogey on Friday to card a second straight round of 67 to move on stroke clear on -13.

It could have been so much better for the Florida-born star, who picked up three gains on the opening nine holes, but a weather delay at the turn halted him in his tracks as he struggled to regain any rhythm when play restarted.

Nonetheless, Koepka is one stroke clear of Thomas (18/5) and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy (13/5), who birdied the final two holes of his round to put himself right in contention to become FedEx Cup champion for the second time.

Reacting to his slender advantage after 36 holes, the overnight leader told www.stuff.co.nz: “The lead is always nice, so I’ll take that. The rain delay kind of killed any momentum I had.

“I didn’t feel like I had any good golf shots after the rain delay, but that’s part of golf. Everybody’s got to deal with the same thing.”

World number 11 Schauffele (6/1) has sole possession of fourth on -11, two shots off the pace, while Englishman Paul Casey (20/1) is a further shot back after carding a three-under-par round of 67.

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