Home SPORTS Rookies Velo and Salinda Lead Zurich Classic After Strong Round

Rookies Velo and Salinda Lead Zurich Classic After Strong Round

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Get the latest golf news: US rookies Kevin Velo and Isaiah Salinda take a one-stroke lead at the Zurich Classic, with defending champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry hot on their heels.



US rookies Kevin Velo and Isaiah Salinda grabbed a one-stroke lead after Friday's alternate-shot second round of the PGA Zurich Classic. They combined to fire a three-under-par 69 to stand on 17 under 127 after 36 holes. “Overall really solid. We played really to our strengths today,” Velo said. “We played pretty flawless. We feed off each other really easily.”


Defending champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry are charging into contention. Americans Ben Griffin and Andrew Novak, also chasing their first PGA wins, combined for a 66 with birdies on three of their final five holes to stand second on 128, one stroke ahead of Danish twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard. “We're both in solid form right now, feeding off each other,” said Novak, who lost a playoff to Justin Thomas at last week's Heritage event.


Kevin Velo and Isaiah Salinda, friends since their junior golf days, started strong on the back nine after being one over through nine holes. They reeled off three birdies in a row to take the lead, with Salinda's birdie putt from 12 feet at the eighth hole putting them alone at the top.




“We like our chances in alternate shot versus anyone in the field,” Salinda said. “We just keep playing how we're playing, set ourselves up for Sunday and give ourselves a shot.”


Defending champions Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry had a strong start, reaching six under after 12 holes, but stumbled with bogeys on three of the last six holes to shoot 69 and finish on 11 under 133. "We were six under through 12 and cruising and then a bit of a bad finish but I didn't feel like we played that badly to have the finish that we did," McIlroy said. “A couple of loose shots here and there.”


McIlroy and Lowry aim to become the event's first back-to-back champions, with McIlroy seeking to add to his three titles this year, including his recent Masters win. McIlroy added an 11-foot eagle putt at the par-5 second, but the pair's inconsistent play continued as Lowry bogeyed the par-3 third. “Tomorrow it will be hard to stay patient because (in) the four-ball format you just have to try to make as many birdies as you can,” McIlroy said.




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