Jordan Spieth delivered a 9-under 62 in the second round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, running off six straight birdies on his back nine to sit one shot behind playing partner Sungjae Im. Im matched the momentum with a stunning hole-in-one on the par-3 seventh a
McKINNEY, Texas — Jordan Spieth had to sit and watch a year ago as Scottie Scheffler, one of his closest friends on tour, became the first of the two to win the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at a tournament they both genuinely love.
Now Spieth is giving himself a real chance to answer.
On Friday’s second round at TPC Craig Ranch, Spieth started his back nine with six consecutive birdies and posted a 9-under 62. He finished one shot behind playing partner Sungjae Im, who produced a 61 after holing out for eagle moments after Spieth’s run began.
The South Korean wasn’t just hot—he was surgical. Im aced the par-3 seventh, shortly after Spieth reached his sixth straight birdie, and lifted himself to the top group. Im was tied for the early second-round lead at 13-under 129, with Japan’s Kensei Hirata also among the leaders after shooting 61.
Spieth’s surge had a clear start point. He credited a par 4 at No. 18 for setting him up for what came next. He struggled off the tee on his first nine. then put together the kind of ball-striking that can turn a good round into a statement: he hit the first four fairways after that early trouble. made a 12-footer at the par-3 fourth. found a 4-footer on the par-5 fifth. and capped the stretch from 9 feet on the sixth.
Im’s brilliance made the moment feel even bigger. After Spieth left his tee 29 feet right of a pin at No. 7, Im answered with a 222-yard shot that bounced between the fringe and the hole. When the ball disappeared, he immediately threw his arms up and looked skyward as the shot dropped in.
“That was one of the prettiest hole-in-ones I’ve ever seen,” Spieth said. “Prettier than any one I ever made. There’s only a few people that would land that left of it on purpose. He might be one of them.”
Spieth’s birdie run ended at No. 7 when his 29-footer came up about a foot short. But he didn’t fall apart. He closed his round bogey-free with a birdie on No. 9.
Im, meanwhile, added an eagle on the par-5 ninth after converting a 14-foot putt. At the end, Im had a bogey and seven birdies alongside his hole-in-one and eagle.
Spieth also spoke to the kind of mental juggling that comes with staying aggressive all day. “I was hurting my head trying to figure out what our best ball was,” he said. “I think it was 57, which is pretty good.”
Scheffler, the man who won the Nelson last year, began his second round at 5 under in an afternoon pairing with Brooks Koepka. Koepka opened with a 63 and is chasing his first victory since returning to the PGA Tour from LIV Golf.
Behind the front, Tyler Duncan shot 66 to join Spieth at 12 under, one stroke ahead of first-round leader Taylor Moore. Moore followed his opening 62 with a 69.
The tournament’s story still carries weight for Spieth beyond the leaderboard. He contended on Sunday as a 16-year-old high schooler at his first Nelson in 2010, then finished fourth a year ago when Scheffler won by eight at 31 under while tying the tour’s 72-hole scoring record of 253.
Spieth, now 32 and with 13 tour victories, admitted he had real concern about the cutline when he was 5 under at the turn. What changed was the same thing that has powered his best Nelson rounds—he matched his career best at the Nelson from last year in the final round.
“Just a lot of it just comes down to knocking in putts,” Spieth said. “It’s not a normal week, and it’s fantastic. Now that our families have grown and stuff, you get the little kids coming out, and it makes it even better.”
Hirata, a six-time winner on the Japanese tour who is still looking for his first PGA Tour title, stayed in the mix with a 64 that included an eagle paired with a bogey-free 65. A short birdie putt on the ninth pulled him even with Im during the day’s leading stretch.
The 25-year-old Hirata has missed the cut in five of his previous seven starts this season. but he sounded like a player who’s decided to keep working through the hard parts. “Every week, even some bad weeks, I learn to not give up,” Hirata said. “Just don’t give up. Just give some chance. Yeah, just keep going.”.
For Spieth, the message lands the same way it always does at this beloved event—something he’s been telling himself for 16 years, hoping the timing and the putts finally fall his way.
Jordan Spieth Sungjae Im CJ Cup Byron Nelson TPC Craig Ranch Kensei Hirata Scottie Scheffler Brooks Koepka Tyler Duncan Taylor Moore golf results