2022 Tour Championship leaderboard breakdown: Scottie Scheffler fends off Xander

The second day of the 2022 Tour Championship looked awfully similar to the first. World No. 1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler carded a round of 4-under 66 and continued to torch East Lake Golf Club. Standing at 19 under at the halfway point, however, Scheffler’s lead is anything but safe. Despite taking care of his own business, Scheffler has seen his lead trimmed to two, with playing competitor Xander Schauffele besting his effort by three strokes on Friday.

Though Scheffler has maintained the two-stroke margin with which he began the week, the composition of the leaderboard behind him has brought a handful of new pursuers. Schauffele is the closest challenger — just as he was after Round 1 — but he now stands at 17 under after playing his final three holes in 4 under. Jon Rahm has also put his name into the hat thanks to an impressive 7-under 63 and is 13 under after starting the week seven off the pace. Both Rahm and Schauffele have enjoyed strong showings at East Lake in the past, and this experience has aided them thus far in their pursuit of the top name in the game.

The same goes for Rory McIlroy, who has recovered from his tumultuous start on Thursday. Signing for yet another round of 3-under 67, the two-time FedEx Cup winner is a full nine strokes off the lead of Scheffler but finds himself in solo seventh. Despite the bevy of names on the first page of the leaderboard, a likely two-horse race has developed on the outskirts of Atlanta.

The leader

1. Scottie Scheffler (-19): Although there were moments of discomfort — his tee shot on the par-3 15th barely cleared the water, for instance — the world No. 1 remains atop the leaderboard. He is 9 under on the week, which is just two strokes worse than Schauffele. I can’t imagine the unflappable Scheffler is too worried about his performance up to this point. 

However comfortable Scheffler may be, though, the putter must improve if he is to successfully fend off Schauffele and others. After ranking fifth in strokes gained putting on Thursday, he regressed heavily Friday and came in at 26th on the greens. His tee-to-green game carried him in the second round, but Scheffler will not have the luxury of his B game carrying him to victory given how Schauffele — and even Rahm — are playing at the moment.

Other contenders

2. Xander Schauffele (-17)

3. Jon Rahm (-13)

T4. Sungjae Im, Patrick Cantlay (-12)

6. Joaquin Niemann (-11)

7. Rory McIlroy (-10)

Schauffele changed the complexion of this entire championship with a back-nine 29. The man who has been simply ridiculous around East Lake throughout his career has continued to flash his affinity for the property this week. The 2017 Tour Championship winner has done everything right through 36 holes, and if he is able to continue to perform in this way, he will have a realistic chance to turn a four-stroke deficit into a FedEx Cup victory over the weekend.

Rahm in a familiar position

The man who claimed the low 72-hole total a year ago is primed to do so once again. In the context of Rahm’s season, which features only one victory against a less-than-stellar field at the Mexico Open, a close call at the season finale would…