Canadian Mackenzie Hughes was in a very good position after 18 holes at the PGA Tour of Champions, but a poor second day dropped him from fifth to 27th on Friday at Kapalua in Hawaii.
All was well for the 32-year-old golfer, but glitches on the back nine forced him to surrender a 74-stroke (1) card, the third-worst among the 37 golfers who concluded the round.
Hughes (-6) stalled birdies on the fifth and 12th holes, but bogeys on the 11th and 13th flag undone his progress. In the 17th, a double bogey finished off the Ontarian, who still kept his face with a last birdie on the last hole.
The vertiginous fall of the Canadian has benefited several athletes, including his compatriot Corey Conners. He climbed to eighth place by virtue of a second round of 68 strikes (-5).
British Columbian Adam Svensson has won a place and shows a total of 141 (-5).
American Collin Morikawa held on to the lead by dropping seven strokes from par 73. The 25-year-old was bogey-free and has a small two-stroke lead at the top, by virtue of his cumulative of 130 (-16). He is closely followed by three other United States representatives, Scottie Scheffler, J.J. Spaun and Jordan Spieth.
Author of a round of 70 (-3) the day before, the sixth player in the world ranking Xander Schauffele withdrew from the tournament in the middle of the round due to a persistent back injury. The American was crowned champion of the 2019 edition.
