WASHINGTON – Jason Dufner holed out from the fairway for an eagle en route to a second straight 65 that gave him a five-shot lead with a record-setting 36-hole total at the Memorial on Friday.
Dufner’s 14-under-par total of 130 put him five shots in front of fellow American Daniel Summerhays, who carded a 69 for 135.
Rickie Fowler was alone in third after a 66 for 136.
“Did everything pretty well,” said Dufner, whose halfway total was one stroke better than the previous 36-hole record set by Scott Hoch at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, in 1987 and matched by Fowler in 2010.
“I made some nice pars and rolled in some putts,” the 2013 PGA Championship winner added, although the highlight of his day didn’t involve putting.
He fired his second shot at the par-four 18th, his ninth hole of the day, from 175 yards out in the centre of the fairway. It landed past the pin and spun back into the hole for an eagle. He added five birdies to cement his lead.
Jason Dufner's shot on 18 dropped in for a phenomenal eagle.
Will you see it in this week's #MustSeeMoments? https://t.co/JSjfSQTvFG pic.twitter.com/YuEkHYHdR2
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2017
Summerhays, seeking a first US PGA Tour victory, had six birdies and three bogeys in his 69.
Fowler, who started the day tied for 13th on 2-under, teed off on 10 and climbed up the leaderboard with a 6-under effort.
Four of his six birdies came on his inward run, including three in a row at the sixth, seventh and eighth.
It was a day to forget for Dustin Johnson at the Memorial as the World No 1 shot a 74 on Friday to miss the cut. Photo: Joe Maiorana, USA TODAY Sports
Former World No 1 Jordan Spieth had three birdies and three bogeys in an even-par 72 that left him tied for fourth on 6-under 138. He was joined by Jamie Lovemark (69) and Justin Thomas (71).
World No 1 Dustin Johnson, two weeks away from his US Open title defence at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, missed the cut, following up his opening 78 with a 2-over 74.