Entering this week’s Truist Championship, the course record at the Wissahickon Course at the Philadelphia Cricket Club was a 65, but calm soft conditions on Thursday saw 10 players beat that number, led by Keith Mitchell’s 9-under 61.
Friday’s second round proved to be more difficult as players had to play through a pretty steady rain for most of the day, even with tee times moved up to avoid the worst of the weather. That brought scoring up considerably as winds shifted and picked up alongside the wet conditions, making the course play longer and tougher. The average score on Friday was more than three shots higher than Thursday’s birdie bonanza as the Cricket Club got to show its teeth in rainy conditions.
The round of the day belonged to Shane Lowry, whose 5-under 65 moved him into solo second at 11-under for the tournament. Lowry took advantage of having one of the early tee times and got out to a hot start before the rain really picked up with four birdies in his first eight holes. He held down the back nine to get into the clubhouse just one shot back of Mitchell (including a gift of a birdie at the 11th when the hole got in the way of a 53-foot putt that was going to go a mile past).
For his part, Mitchell did what he needed to with a second-round 67, allowing him to take the solo lead into the weekend at 12 under. Mitchell has been dominant on Thursdays this year in regular PGA Tour events but has run out of gas on the weekends. He will look to finally put four good rounds together this week, but he will have to face down a signature event leaderboard littered with the best players in the world to do so.
The good news for Mitchell is Lowry and Sepp Straka (-10) are the only players to reach double figures under par through the second round. The bad news is the group tied for fourth at 7 under features a who’s who of the best players on Tour this season (aside from Scottie Scheffler, who isn’t in the field).
Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas both shot 67s on Friday to move into T4 at 7-under, five back of Mitchell. McIlroy had a busy scorecard with six birdies and three bogeys, noting in his post-round interview with Golf Channel on Friday afternoon that he feels like he’s scoring well enough to win this week but has to find a way to stop giving shots back.
Collin Morikawa stalled out with a 70 to remain at 7 under, while Patrick Cantlay, Akshay Bhatia and Si Woo Kim round out the group in a tie for fourth. Being five back is certainly not an insurmountable deficit on the weekend, especially with a course where low scores are available in better weather. That’s what’s expected on the weekend. Saturday is expected to be sunny and breezy with the winds laying down a bit on Sunday, which could promote fireworks.
The leader
1. Keith Mitchell (-12)
Mitchell hasn’t been worse than second after 18 holes in his last five individual starts but hasn’t been able to cash in on a win yet. The positive for Mitchell is that he didn’t immediately give back all the hard work he did in the first round (as some in the field did). However, now the challenge is to keep his foot on the gas through the weekend, which has not been a strength this year. His weekend scoring average in those four previous events has been a 71.75, and he’ll have to buck that trend if he’s going to be a surprise winner after getting into the field this week on a sponsor’s exemption.
Other contenders
2. Shane Lowry (-11)
3. Sepp Straka (-10)
T4. Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay, Akshay Bhatia, Si Woo Kim (-7)
T10. Max Homa, Rickie Fowler and three others (-6)
T15. Tony Finau, Denny McCarthy, Sungjae Im and seven others (-5)
T25. Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and six others (-4)
While there’s a bit of separation from the top three, the rest of the field is extremely condensed behind them with 30 players from 4-under to 7-under on the leaderboard. That is the recipe for a volatile moving day, and with the leader five shots clear of the top of that group, you’d expect players to get very aggressive on Saturday to try to make up ground going into Sunday. McIlroy, Thomas and Morikawa certainly look like the biggest threats, but there are plenty in that group capable of taking it low and making a move into contention on Sunday.
There is, of course, the opportunity for someone in that lead trio to run away and hide with a great third round. Lowry seems like the biggest threat to do so. He has been incredibly steady with his 64-65 and he seems to have quickly figured these greens out, and when he gets hot with the flat stick he piles up birdies.
2025 Truist Championship updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Keith Mitchell (16/5)
- Shane Lowry (7/2)
- Rory McIlroy (11/2)
- Sepp Straka (6-1)
- Collin Morikawa (12-1)
- Justin Thomas (14-1)
- Patrick Cantlay (16-1)
- Si Woo Kim (35-1)
- Akshay Bhatia (35-1)
Of the chase pack, I think Thomas has the best odds going into the weekend at 14-1. He’s playing terrific golf tee-to-green. With the improvement in his putting this year, if he can get it rolling on the weekend he could absolutely make a big move up the leaderboard. Of the group in the top three, I’d put my faith in Lowry because of his iron play and short game. The course should remain pretty soft through the weekend after how much rain fell on Friday, and Lowry is the guy I trust to take advantage of that with his approach play. He feels like the biggest threat to run away going into Sunday.
