As the sun sets, a collection of competitors find themselves knotted at the peak of the standings at the 2025 Hero World Challenge. Akshay Bhatia, Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, and Cameron Young form a quintet residing at 10 under par, marking the halfway point at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.
Bhatia managed to recover from a bogey on the hole before last, securing a birdie on his final play to match the other four at the summit. Simultaneously, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler encountered a setback with a double bogey on the 16th, the result of an errant drive, which caused him to slip from 11 under to a final score of 9 under for the day.
Scheffler is currently sharing sixth place with Alex Noren and Sepp Straka, while Justin Rose mirrored his initial 68 with another on Friday, positioning himself within two strokes of the lead as the competition progresses into the weekend.
“I believe there’s always an advantage to be gained from performing well,” Scheffler commented. “I wouldn’t overanalyze things if I don’t have a stellar week here; I wouldn’t try to carry that momentum too far ahead. But overall, I feel it’s a beneficial opportunity to assess my game and prepare for the season. It feels like an excellent preliminary event.”
Young, Scheffler’s teammate from the Ryder Cup, made the most significant advancement, following an initial 70 with a second-round score of 64, the lowest among the 20 participants in Round 2. The powerful right-hander maintained a steady pace throughout the day before shifting into a higher gear around the midway point, completing Nos. 12-17 in 6 under par. Had he not bogeyed on the final hole, Young might have recorded a score below 30 on his second nine.
“I sank a few putts late in the day, but this course lends itself to such moments. I mentioned to Kyle yesterday that it felt like we played quite well and could have easily scored 4, 5, 6 under, which made our actual score of 2 [under] feel somewhat disappointing,” Young explained. “But the truth is, from one day to the next, you can experience stretches where everything seems effortless, even though it might not feel that different from the previous day. I believe I performed similarly today, just with a few more putts dropping as we went on.”
Young’s co-leader, Clark, admitted that his putting hasn’t been optimal through the initial two rounds, a sentiment supported by the statistics, which place him 16th out of 20 players in putting proficiency. Interestingly, Spaun, another co-leader, is currently ranked last in the field in putting, making the reigning U.S. Open champion a formidable contender if he can refine his skills with that particular club.
However, Clark’s overall performance hinges on his success with his full swing. Having recently started working with a swing coach for the first time in a considerable period, the three-time PGA Tour victor is careful to bring only one specific swing thought to the course, reserving the rest for practice sessions. Thus far, this focused approach has proven effective for him.
“At present, I concentrate on just one swing thought during play,” Clark stated. “When I’m at the range, I consider several aspects I want to refine, but during the game, my focus is solely on ensuring the heel leads the toe during the swing to maintain an open face. It’s a straightforward concept, and that’s what I’m sticking with.”
The Prospect of Young’s Year?
Emerging as a standout personality from the Ryder Cup, Young has managed to maintain his high level of play over the past couple of months. As one of the frontrunners in the Bahamas, the Wyndham Championship titleholder has the opportunity to emulate past champions of this tournament by leveraging this event as a catalyst for his upcoming year.
Back in 2022, Hovland secured victory at this tournament the year preceding his FedEx Cup triumph, while Scheffler utilized this week to experiment with various adjustments to his gameplay in preparation for his remarkable campaigns in 2024 and 2025. Young seems to share a similar perspective on these 72 holes and recognizes the potential value they may hold, despite their relaxed atmosphere.
“Indeed, it could serve as such. While I’m not treating this week purely as practice, I am using it as an opportunity to build upon certain aspects we’ve been working on, focusing less on the results themselves, especially given that I haven’t participated in any competitions in the last few months,” Young remarked. “Therefore, it’s more about continuing to refine our mental approach. I don’t believe the outcome will necessarily dictate our future success; rather, it will depend on how we execute our process and approach the course.”
Potential Endcaps
Matsuyama captured attention during the opening week of the year with a record-breaking showing at the Sentry, ultimately leading to a victory … but then remained relatively quiet thereafter. With no top 10 finishes in his PGA Tour season since his win at Kapalua, the Japanese golfer hopes to cap off his 2025 in style with another triumph this week.
What stands out about Matsuyama’s performance through these initial 36 holes is the manner in which he has achieved his success. He currently leads the field in driving accuracy and ranks among the top five in putting — largely due to his performance on Friday — while finding himself near the bottom in iron play, an area where he typically excels.
“I’ve been dedicating time to all aspects of my game … we started the year strong in Hawaii, but my performance waned for the rest of the season,” Matsuyama commented. “So, I’m aiming to perform well over the next two days and looking forward to the upcoming season.”
