Jordan Spieth makes his move with a 64 at Liberty National
Friday 9 August 2019 21:31, UK
Justin Rose kept himself firmly in contention at The Northern Trust with a three-under 68 in the second round at Liberty National.
That score, which included six birdies and three bogeys, lifted the Englishman to nine under at the halfway stage in the opening event of the FedExCup Play-Offs.
Rose, who is the reigning FedExCup champion, was pleased with both his score and his long game as he followed up his 65 in the first round.
"A good morning's work for sure," said the world No 4, who is bidding for his second victory of the year after winning the Farmers Insurance Open in January.
"Nice to capitalise on yesterday. I finished well yesterday and started well today, so it was nice to keep the momentum up.
"It's a position that I can build on going into the weekend for sure, and I've got nothing to lose, which is really great. Freewheel this weekend and try to put myself in position.
"I won a tournament at the beginning of the year. I'd like to win one towards the end of the season now. To be able to book-end things would be pretty good and make it a great year.
"The putting is still holding up really nicely. I'm beginning to see some momentum with the long game which is great, and hopefully can continue to build on that these coming weeks."
Jordan Spieth was four shots better than Rose in the morning with a seven-under 64 which moved him up to 11 under.
The 2015 FedExCup champion mixed eight birdies with just one bogey as he searches for his first victory since the 2017 Open.
The 26-year-old was also in contention at the Wyndham Championship last week before crashing out of the tournament with a 77 in the third round and he admits consistency has been an issue for him.
"The important thing for me is not to get ahead of myself," he said. "It's just to continue to try and be consistent. Historically, I'm a very consistent player. I've lost a bit of that.
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"I still have the firepower but that consistency is what I'm trying to get back, and there's certainly going to be times where I'm in position, and there's going to be times where I'm out of position over the weekend. It's about limiting the mistakes.
"One bogey over 36 holes is somewhat unrealistic week-to-week. But if I can hold it close to that for the next 36, again, that firepower is still there. And it would certainly shoot my confidence up."
