Hossler hustles on

Holding firm: Beau Hossler in action during the second round of the Wyndham Championship. – AFP

GREENSBORO: Beau Hossler hung onto the Wyndham Championship lead after posting a second- round 67 on Friday at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.

One day after leaping out to an early lead on the back of a 61, Hossler stands at 12-under 128, one stroke ahead of Ben James (67) and England’s Jordan Smith (64).

There is a massive 10-way tie for fourth at nine-under at the PGA Tour’s regular-season finale.

Only the top 70 in the season-long FedEx Cup standings will qualify for the first leg of the playoffs next week.

Hossler entered the week more or less needing a victory to vault from No. 122 into the top 70; his current projection, if results were to hold, is No. 53.

Hossler brushed off a bogey-bogey start at No. 10-11 by carding three birdies on the back nine and adding a pair at No. 5 and 9 coming in.

The 11-foot putt he made at the par-four ninth broke him out of a tie with James and Smith during the afternoon.

“Was really happy with the way I kind of righted the ship and made a (birdie) 2 on hole 12, which is a really challenging hole, which kind of moved the momentum back in my favour,” Hossler said.

“Kind of all day I felt like I was fighting it a little bit... To shoot three-under on a day like that was really, really good. Sometimes even more satisfying, frankly, than shooting really low.”

Smith entered the week on the FedEx Cup bubble at No. 68, but he’s all but assured to make the field of 70 now that he’s made the cut in Greensboro.

His round of 64 included an eagle-birdie stretch at No. 5-6 as he finished his day on the front nine.

“Yeah, I’m reasonably happy,” Smith said of his first season in the states after a career on the DP World Tour.

“We made a lot of cuts, built up our points nicely, had a couple nice finishes. Yeah, it’s been pretty good.

“So hopefully we can sort of make it a really good year by having a good week here and pushing on into the playoffs.”

James, 23, continues to threaten for his first PGA Tour victory after he turned pro this summer and held the 36-hole lead in his first professional start at the Canadian Open.

He made an eagle 2 on his first hole of the day, his approach at the par-4 10th slowly spinning back toward the pin and eventually dropping.

“Sometimes, you just make golf bigger than it is,” James said of what he’s learned. “It’s not that big.

“I’m going to do the best I can, play as smart as I can and keep doing the right things.

“I’m doing a lot of things really well and just going to keep going for the weekend.” — Reuters