Through the fog of Bryson DeChambeau’s second-round 60 at the BMW Championship was Patrick Cantlay putting his way to a 63, his lowest score on the PGA Tour since February at Pebble Beach.
After shooting a 66 in Round 1, Cantlay, who’s looking for his first win since The Memorial in early June, had 10 birdies in Round 2, placing him one stroke off DeChambeau’s lead at 15 under. But it was his putter that made the magic happen. He gained over five strokes on the field with the flatstick for the second day in a row, which ranks first in the field.
Hudson Swafford, who sits at 11 under, is the only player at Caves Valley with half as many strokes gained in putting (5.869) through the first two rounds of the tournament as Cantlay (11.168).
Full-field scores from the BMW Championship
“Yeah, I got the putter going on the back nine and made a bunch of birdies, and today I hit it better all the way through and also putted really well,” Cantlay said. “I thought I played great. Nine under, I’m very pleased, but obviously there was lower than that out there today.”
The 29-year-old jumped near the top of the leaderboard on the par-4 fifth when a chip from 45 yards out became an 11-footer for birdie, which he nailed. He kept up with DeChambeau all day, but fell behind when he bogeyed the par-3 17th after his tee shot landed in the bunker.
It's crowded at the top @BMWChamps.@Patrick_Cantlay joins the mix with this up and down.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 27, 2021
He's 1 back. pic.twitter.com/xE7agol2Op
Cantlay, though, wasn’t concerned with DeChambeau who was playing in the group ahead.
“I knew [DeChambeau] was playing really well and then I saw on the board that he eagled 16, and that was kind of all that I knew,” Cantlay said. “It’s so hot out there, I’m just trying to stay one shot at a time and just get to my ball.”