Graeme McDowell vaults into Mexico lead after birdie bonanza
Graeme McDowell made seven birdies in the space of eight holes as he vaulted up the leaderboard to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.
McDowell, who started on the back nine, hit three straight birdies before making the turn. He dropped at shot on the first before following up with four more birdies in a ow.
McDowell has not enjoyed the best of years, with only one top-10 finish in 25 starts as he dropped to 85th in the world rankings, but said a change of mental approach has helped him this week. “(I) came into these two weeks with a pretty relaxed attitude,” McDowell said on the PGA Tour website. “The last couple days, so far, the attitude’s been good. I’ve just been out there trying to play golf and enjoy myself.”
McDowell leads by one shot on -12 from Derek Fathauer, one of four overnight leaders, who overcame two bogeys for a second-round 66.
Justin Leonard and Shawn Stefani dropped down to a share of fifth with rounds of 68, while Aaron Baddeley had a nightmare day, with three bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-four sixth sending him all the way down to a share of 37th as he signed for a 73.
Korean Si Woo Kim is tied for third, two shots back, alongside Harold Varner III, whose 62 was the best round of the day and came despite a bogey on the second hole.
