Chris Gotterup is within one stroke of the lead heading into the weekend at the Tour Championship after following his opening-round 64 with a 67 on Friday.
The 27-year-old is tied just one shot behind leaders Viktor Hovland and Ryan Gerard with 36 holes remaining at East Lake. A victory would give Gotterup a serious chance of winning the PGA Tour Player of the Year award.
Gotterup narrowly missed out on the United States Ryder Cup team last year after producing some exceptional golf, but his performances have arguably improved further this season.
Chris Gotterup discusses East Lake’s toughest hole
Gotterup spoke to the media after his second round on Friday and was asked about the increasingly difficult conditions at East Lake.
“It definitely got a little harder when the wind switched and picked up a little bit,” Gotterup admitted.
“Like a hole like 15 was really hard to get a club that, one, landed pin high, and two, was on the green.
“We were hitting from 155. We were laughing and saying, if we played the back box today, there would be a lot of complaining going on.”
The 15th hole can be stretched beyond 200 yards. Had it played to its full distance on Friday, the par-three would have been almost impossible to negotiate.
East Lake’s challenging 15th hole
Even from 155 yards, the 15th was the most difficult hole at East Lake during the second round. Players averaged 0.138 strokes over par on the hole.
Only three birdies were recorded throughout the day, the same number as double bogeys or worse.
Strong winds caused problems for players hitting their tee shots into the 15th. The pin was positioned close to the edge of the green, while water threatened shots that finished short or left.
Players were aiming 30 to 40 feet to the right of the pin despite having only a wedge in their hands, highlighting just how difficult the hole was playing.
The par-three 15th is likely to play a significant role in determining the outcome of this year’s Tour Championship over the weekend.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
