JACKSON, Miss. — Beau Hossler did his part in another low-scoring day at the Sanderson Farms Championship, missing just one green Friday in an 8-under 64 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend as he chases his first PGA. The victory of the journey.
Hossler started his round with a three-putt bogey from about 30 feet, and felt like he made almost everything after that, including a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 fifth hole.
Daniel Berger, who has been out of golf for 18 months with a back injury, had another round of seven birdies and a bogey-free 65 and shot back.
The back two team included Keith Mitchell (64), Jacob Bridgeman (66) and England’s David Skinns, who opened with a record 60 and needed three birdies on the back nine to break 71.
Hossler was 15-under 129 on the soft, steep and vulnerable Country Club of Jackson. The cut was 6-under 138.
“If you go out and try to shoot 8, 9 under par, it’s not going to happen,” Hossler said. “You’ve got to try to take it one at a time, try to split the par-5s as much as you can, birdie the driveable hole. And then you’re just starting 3, 4, 5 under par.”
He almost followed that script, except for missing a 12-foot birdie on the par-5 13th. But he played the par-5s in 4 under with an eagle, and made short work of the par-4 15th.
“That’s my goal on an easy golf course, is to break it down and make it easy,” Hossler said. “Hopefully, I learned the greens well and made the putts. That’s all you can do.”
Berger was number 25 in the world when he pulled out with a back problem after the 2022 US Open in Brookline. He was at No. 664 when he felt ready to return in January to American Express. Lately he has felt closer to normalcy.
“It’s kind of a process,” he said. “You work every day to get 1 percent better, 1 percent better, and then you get to a point where you don’t have to think about it or worry about it and that’s kind of where I am now.”
He said it was the first time he felt healthy, which made him rid himself of doubts that he could follow the gun without worrying about pain.
FedEx Cup Fall multiplayer is all about finishing in the top 125 in November for a full 2025 card. Bridgeman took a big step. He entered this week at No. 123, and now you can think about the biggest prize.
Skins lost a little space, which was expected. He had a three-goal lead when he finished early on Thursday afternoon. 24 hours later, he was already five shots behind Hossler when he exited in the second round.
Skinns made bogeys and was sliding down the leaderboard until he tied it on the back nine to enter the weekend just two shots behind.
Former US Open champion Gary Woodland, who took a break from brain surgery a year ago, didn’t hit as well as he did in the opening round but is happy. He went bogey-free and posted a 68, leaving him three shots behind at 12-under 132.
“I played really well yesterday. All three levels — driving, short game, hitting the ball — were really good,” Woodland said. “Today wasn’t good and I stayed there. I’m proud of not having it today and grinding it out.
“It shows I’m doing a lot of things the right way, and I’m looking forward to a big weekend.”
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