Crane holds lead at Byron Nelson
Ben Crane made a 14-foot birdie putt on his last hole Friday for a 7-under 63 and a one-stroke lead after two rounds at the Byron Nelson.
At 12-under 128, Crane was one stroke ahead of Jordan Spieth, Sergio Garcia, Brooks Koepka and Bud Cauley.
Spieth had a 65. He’s playing only his second tournament since squandering a five-stroke lead on the back nine at the Masters. The world’s No. 2-ranked player missed the cut last week at The Players Championship.
The last time Crane led a tournament was at Memphis two years ago, the last of his five PGA Tour victories.
Crane first took the lead after six birdies in an eight-hole stretch, including a 70-foot shot from a greenside bunker at the par-4 third hole, his 12th of the day. The closing birdie came right after his only bogey.
Koepka had a 64, Cauley shot 65, and Garcia 66.
Locally, Steve Wheatcroft shot 6-over par and missed the cut.
Kenny Perry shot a 2-under 70 to maintain a one-stroke lead over Bernhard Langer and Billy Andrade in the Regions Tradition.
Perry had three birdies and a bogey to reach 10-under 134 at Greystone in the first of the year’s five PGA Tour Champions majors. The 2014 Regions Tradition winner has missed only one green in regulation.
So Yeon Ryu had six birdies in an eight-hole stretch and shot a 7-under 64 to take the second-round lead in the Kingsmill Championship.
Ranked 11th in the world but sixth in the race for the four spots on South Korea’s Olympic team, Ryu opened with a bogey on the 10th hole, then used the birdie run to make the turn in 5-under 30.
The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion added birdies on the par-4 fourth and par-5 seventh and closed with two pars to reach 7-under 135 on the soggy River Course.
Locally, Rachel Rohanna shot 7-over for the two rounds and did not make the cut.