On a blistering summer day in Memphis, Tennessee, day two of the 2024 FedEx St. Jude Championship got underway with a crowded leaderboard as the patrons entered the gates of TPC Southwind, the excitement for the second round of the 2024 FedEx St. Just Championship, with several guys fighting for the final few spots in the top-50 of the FedEx Cup and the fight for first place into the weekend, Friday was the perfect day for a special day of golf.

Viktor Hovland set the tone early with his impressive round and tee time. Hovland found his groove early, positioning himself low on the leaderboard at seven under par. With his round of 63, Hovland moved up 18 positions on the leaderboard. Hovland laid down the brickwork for an exciting golf day at TPC Southwind.

A few hours later, Scottie Scheffler did what Scottie Scheffler does and put together a bogey-free round on Friday, giving Scottie the best position for a run at a FedEx St. Jude Championship on Saturday and Sunday. Scottie went for five birdies on Friday and found his groove, giving him a specific energy around the golf course that only the greats can produce.

When asked about his bogey-free round, Scottie said, ” Yeah, today it’s just nice to have a clean card. No bogeys, did an excellent job of having some nice up-and-downs to keep the momentum and the round going. I holed a nice putt for par early in the round on five, and then I had a couple of excellent chips after that, getting it close to the hole, making what could have been a stressful par into a pretty stress-free par with some terrific pitches. Overall, it was a pretty good day.”

Denny McCarthy and Hideki Matsuyama held on to a joint one-stroke lead after Friday’s play at eleven under over Sam Burns, who sat there a stroke off at ten under par.

Finishing out the top five was a two-way tie between Justin Rose and Nick Dunlap at eight under. Other names to watch inside the top ten are Viktor Hovland, Billy Horschel, Robert MacIntyre, Will Zalatoris, Erik Van Rooyen, and Chris Kirk.

From a course perspective, the greens were challenging on Friday. The good news is that with the rain coming to Memphis overnight, the greens will likely slow down a bit, giving golfers a chance at going low on Saturday and creating a wild finish for Sunday.

With the delayed tee times, players will have a few hours of recovery to prepare for the Memphis heat on Saturday. With softer greens, expect guys to go low on Saturday while fending off the pack of 70 of the best golfers in the world. All the action will get underway around 9:45 A.m. from TPC Southwind with an incredible day of golf as the guys focus on earning a top-50 position to keep the season alive for at least one more week.

( Photo Credits: FedEx St. Jude Championship X/Facebook pages)