Greensboro [US], August 3 : Defending champion Aaron Rai stayed in strong contention as she reached 13-under through 13 holes in the second round of the Wyndham Championship, the final event of the regular season on the PGA TOUR ahead of the FedExCup play-offs.
Rai was 7-under 63 in the first round and he was 6-under through 13 holes in the second. He was one shot behind Cameron Young (63 and 7-under through 15 in the second) at the Sedgefield Country Club.
The weather was mostly cloudy and humid with afternoon thunderstorms. The second round was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at 4:32 p.m., with the entire afternoon wave yet to complete their round. The play was scheduled for the following day.
When the second round was suspended for the day, some of the players withdrew. Among them was Akshay Bhatia, who was 5-over for the tournament at that stage and was sure to miss the cut.
Sahith Theegala missed the cut with 72-74, and he will now miss the Play-offs after having made the Tour Championship last year. He will get back to action after the Play-offs, which begin with the Procore Championship next month.
At the time of the suspension, Cameron Young holds the solo lead at 14-under one shot ahead of 2024 Wyndham champion Aaron Rai. Mac Meissner and Sungjae Im, who played in the morning wave, finished their rounds at 12-under.
Rai trails Young by one stroke, and if he moves into the lead/co-lead when the second round is complete, he would become the first defending champion at the Wyndham Championship to do so after 36 holes since Mike Souchak in 1962.
He is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend at the Wyndham Championship since Sam Snead in 1956
Rai, who skipped the 3M Open, is a certainty for the Play-offs and is looking at improving his position to try and get into the second event for Top-50 and the Tour Championship which is for Top-30.
In the second round he began with three birdies on the trot and added a fourth on the fifth. Birdies on the 10th and the 12th took him to 6-under and he had five more holes to play when play was suspended.
Interestingly, Rai's maiden PGA Tour title was at Wyndham last year and in 2010 India's Arjun Atwal had won the same event.
Wyndham marks the final event of the PGA TOUR Regular Season with the top 70 players in the FedExCup at the end of the week qualifying for the FedEx St. Jude, the first leg of the three-event FedExCup Playoffs.