Greyserman Seeks Victory in Japan After a Year of Disappointment
Golfer Max Greyserman is in a privileged position at the Baycurrent Classic, seeking his first PGA Tour victory after finishing just one stroke short of victory last year in Japan. Greyserman signed a card of 63 strokes, eight under par, in the second round on Friday, accumulating a total of 12 under par (130 strokes) in the two rounds played. This gives him a four-stroke lead over his pursuers. His closest competitors are Alex Smalley (65), Xander Schauffele (63) and Alex Noren (65). The tournament, the only PGA Tour event in Japan, moved this year to Yokohama after being held east of Tokyo. The championship debuted in 2019, with Tiger Woods as champion.Greyserman also commented on the fans’ support, suggesting that some might remember him from last year, when he was close to victory. Xander Schauffele, for his part, had a contrasting performance. After a Thursday with 71 strokes, the wind affected his game. However, on Friday the conditions improved.“I’ve been doing things well this week from the start, so I just need to keep doing what I’m doing,” Greyserman said.
Max Greyserman
Four other players are five strokes behind the leader, including the defending champion, Nico Echavarria. Japanese Kazuki Higa had a spectacular first half of the round on Friday, with eight birdies in his first nine holes, but he couldn’t keep up the pace and finished with 64 strokes, six behind the leader. Collin Morikawa, member of the American Ryder Cup team alongside Schauffele, signed a card of 68 strokes, three under par, and is nine strokes behind Greyserman at the Yokohama Country Club.“Yesterday I felt like I was just trying to survive the round and, at times, there was almost no wind today,” Schauffele said. “The greens were rolling pretty well and the wind died down. If you’re hitting good shots, you’re being rewarded for them, so I was able to take a lot of advantage of that.”
Xander Schauffele
