Adam Hadwin fires back-nine 28 at Valspar Championship to claim lead

Adam Hadwin produced a stunning run of birdies as he stormed into a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Valspar Championship in Tampa.

Hadwin reeled off five consecutive birdies after the turn and picked up another shot at the 17th in a best-of-the-day 64, which lifted him to the top of the leaderboard on 10 under par.

The Canadian edged ahead of overnight leader Jim Herman, while Henrik Stenson goes into the weekend three shots off the pace after a battling level-par 71 in the tougher, afternoon conditions on the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook.

Tyrone Van Aswegen was one of the biggest movers among the early starters, the South African carding eight birdies in a classy 65 that set the clubhouse target at eight under.

But Hadwin, who provided one of the highlights of the season so far when he fired a sensational 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January, surpassed that despite struggling to make much happen on the outward half before finding his range after the turn.

The 29-year-old almost holed his approach to the 10th and made a solid four at the long 11th, and he added birdies at each of the next three holes before holing a clutch 12-foot putt for par at the 15th.

Hadwin rolled in another confident putt from just inside 10 feet for birdie at 17, and a cast-iron par at the last completed a back-nine 28.

"That was certainly something you don't think is going to happen but I hit a lot of good shots today, especially five in a row there, 10 through 14," said Hadwin. "It's nice to see the ball-striking kind of come around and the putter stay where it has all year.

"I gave myself a ton of looks out there. I hit a lot of fairways, as well, which makes it a lot easier to attack some of these flags, and the putter stayed hot and I made a few more putts than I did in the first round."

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Herman led overnight after his flawless, opening 62, but he was more cautious on Friday afternoon as he parred the first 11 holes before breaking the run with a 10-foot putt for birdie at the 12th.

But poor drives at the next two holes cost him back-to-back bogeys, although he responded with a perfect 15-footer for birdie at 16 and parred in to remain in outright second.

Stenson got off to an encouraging start with a good up-and-down for birdie at the par-five opening hole, but he rarely threatened the flags for the remainder of the front nine and did well to make eight straight pars.

The Open champion hit a poor third to the long 11th and dropped his first shot of the day, and a bunkered tee-shot at 13 cost him another bogey before he balanced the books with a 30-foot birdie putt at the 15th.

Stenson is alongside Dominic Bozzelli and Russell Henley on seven under, with trick-shot specialist Wesley Bryan alone in seventh place, four shots off the lead.

A seventh place finish would secure Ian Poulter's PGA Tour card for the season, and he improved his chances with a hard-working 67 which lifted him to three under.

Graeme McDowell holed a 30-foot putt on the final green to scrape into the weekend on level par, while Bubba Watson, Ernie Els and Luke Donald were among the players to miss the halfway cut.