The Japan Times - Fleetwood ties Henley for PGA Tour Championship lead

Three adrift to start the day at East Lake Country Club in Atlanta, Georgia, Fleetwood nabbed four birdies in six holes on the back nine and bounced back from a bogey at 16 with back-to-back birdies for a 13-under par total of 127.

Henley, who led by two after the first round, closed with back-to-back birdies in a four-under 66 to claim his share of the lead.

The top duo were two strokes clear of Cameron Young, who charged up the leaderboard with an eight-under 62 that saw Young make six of his nine birdies on the back nine.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre and Patrick Cantlay shared fourth on 10-under and world number one Scottie Scheffler was alone in sixth on eight-under.

MacIntyre and Cantlay both shot 66 -- Cantlay rebounding after a bogey-bogey start to pick up four strokes in his last three holes thanks to birdies at 16 and 17 and an eagle at 18.

England's Fleetwood said rain-softened East Lake offered plenty of scoring chances -- but still demanded accuracy off the tee.

"I think if you start losing it a little bit off the tee and you're in the rough, it obviously becomes a lot more difficult to score," said Fleetwood, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and 13 of 18 greens in regulation.

The seven-time DP World Tour winner suffered his latest PGA Tour near miss at the St. Jude Championship this month, and was tied for fourth at the BMW Championship last week.

"I think I'm playing really good golf," he said. "Best possible scenario, put yourself in contention. Play well, put yourself in contention, and go from there.

"I love the buzz when I am in contention," added Fleetwood, who now finds himself in the hunt for a first title in a tournament that carries a $10 million first prize. "I'm just excited for the opportunity again."

Henley had rolled in 207 feet of putts as he sizzled on the greens in an opening 61. But after a hole-out birdie at the first he had three birdie putts of about five feet before rolling in his longest birdie of the day, a 14-footer, at the last.

- Scheffler struggles -

"I hit my driver awesome," Henley said. "I hit a lot of shots today that were really good shots that maybe didn't end up quite close enough or maybe gave myself a little bit of an awkward birdie putt.

"But still feel like I putted it well, hit my lines really well, and just hit a bunch of fairways. That's what you've got to do around here."

With low scoring the norm, Scheffler endured a frustrating day that included three bogeys.

But the American, whose five wins in 2025 include the PGA Championship and British Open, stretched his streak of sub-par rounds to 19 with his fourth birdie of the day at the par-five 18th.

In the rough off the tee, he took dead aim with his third shot from the fairway and landed it one foot from the pin.

"It's just one of those days where it seemed like I wasn't getting rewarded for what I was doing," Scheffler said. "My game definitely doesn't feel off but you look at 18, end up a foot off the fairway.

"Seventeen I have to chip out sideways, 14 I felt like I hit a god shot in there and it kicked right into the bunker ... Just wasn't as sharp as I needed to be."

S.Suzuki--JT