Svensson trying to ‘claw’ way into top 125

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Adam Svensson was in prime position to shoot 59 in the second round of the Wyndham Championship after going 9 under through 13 holes.

Alas, he could only manage pars the rest of the way and signed for a 61 that put him at 11 under and two off the lead at rain-soaked Sedgefield Country Club. He hit 13 of 14 fairways, 16 greens in regulation, and made 132 feet of putts.

“Got a little nervous,” said Svensson, a 25-year-old Canadian who is 171st in the FedExCup, but projected to move up to 143rd. “But I was happy with the way I played.”After struggling to 31 putts in the first round, when he ranked 136th in the field in Strokes Gained: Putting, Svensson used his new claw grip to perfection Friday, taking just 25 strokes on the greens.

With 59 in play, fans flocked to his group to watch him play the final four holes. Svensson shot 61 at the Sony Open in Hawaii this year, so the round was not a total shocker despite his struggles.

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Danny Sahl, who also caddies for Vijay Singh, but has been helping Svensson try to keep his PGA TOUR card, was especially unsurprised. This is their fourth week together, and Svensson finished T15 and T18 in the first two, the 3M Open and John Deere Classic, respectively. He worked on switching to the claw putting grip at the Barracuda Championship last week, missing the cut.

“Tee to green,” Sahl said, “he’s the best I’ve seen besides probably Vijay in his heyday. His demeanor and distance control were still there as we got closer to that famous number.”

Before the tournament started, Sahl told Svensson to just go out and play, no pressure. That’s a lot easier said than done, but Svensson has responded. He said he was standing in the 14th fairway Friday when it occurred to him that he could shoot 59, assuming Sedgefield was a par 70.

Suddenly nervous, he missed the 14th green with his approach, but got up and down for par. He duck-hooked his drive on 15, bouncing back nicely with his next two shots before pushing his short birdie try well right of the hole. He now need to birdie two of the last three. He birdied none.

Still, a 61 is nothing to sneeze at, and Svensson makes this the sixth season in the last decade in which a player has shot multiple rounds of 61 or below on TOUR. (Steve Stricker 2009, Troy Merritt 2015, Ryan Moore 2012, Chez Reavie 2017, Troy Matteson 2009.)

“Same game plan,” he said of his weekend plans. “You know, we play aggressive at some flags and we shoot wedges from other ones. I think I learned a lot from the Sony Open, shooting 61 as well. I just played too aggressive trying to get out front and tomorrow I'm just going to play my normal game.”