Aaron Rai remained inside the top 10 after the second round of the Cognizant Classic in The Palm Beaches, while Sudarshan Yellamaraju also secured a place in the weekend rounds.
Rai followed his opening 69 with another 69 to sit tied sixth at 6-under heading into the weekend. Yellamaraju, who began the event strongly, slipped down the leaderboard after a second-round 72 but still made the cut comfortably.
Rai’s round featured four birdies against two bogeys as he maintained his steady position among the leaders.
Yellamaraju endured a difficult front nine that included three bogeys and a triple bogey but recovered impressively on the back nine with five birdies to limit the damage and stay inside the cut line.
At the top of the leaderboard, Austin Smotherman maintained control with a second-round 69 to move to 11-under and hold a three-shot lead. His round included a highlight 55-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th.
Taylor Moore sits second at 8-under after posting back-to-back rounds of 67. A.J. Ewart, who produced the round of the day with a 64, shares third place at 7-under with Nico Echavarria.
Brooks Koepka also advanced to the weekend after bouncing back from an opening 74 with a 5-under 66 to sit tied 27th.
With two rounds remaining, Rai remains well placed as the tournament heads into the weekend in Florida.
Photo – PGAT
