An eagle on the 11th on Friday saw Charl Schwartzel charge through the field in the PGA Tour’s Valspar Championship as the 2011 Masters champion carded a six-under 65 to move into a share of sixth at the Copperhead Course at Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida.
His eagle, five birdies and just a single bogey vaulted him 39 places up the leaderboard into a share of seventh at seven-under at the halfway mark, five shots off the lead held by Americans Keegan Bradley and Sam Burns.
Schwartzel made the 32-footer for eagle on the 11th, after making three birdies and his bogey on the opening nine. The 2016 champion in this tournament showed just how much he likes the course with his eagle and two birdies coming home in a solid bounce-back from the disappointment of losing in a play-off together with Louis Oosthuizen in the team event, the Zurich Classic.
“Yeah, definitely I would say Monday and Tuesday was, when you get that close to winning and, yeah, we were both a little down, but kept trying to remind myself that there was a lot of positives, played really well under pressure and you had an opportunity to win,” Schwartzel said.
He’s got another top-10 at Copperhead to go along with the trophy. It’s a history that gives Schwartzel belief another good weekend is in store. “For sure, it’s great memories,” he said. “The golf course is obviously a course that I like, that I play well on and, our game, there’s all these little fractions that sometimes makes a difference and at least I put myself in a good position into the weekend.”
Branden Grace also had a good second round, his three-under 68 moving him to a share of 16th. Oosthuizen bounded back from an average first round with a second-round 67 as he climbed into a share of 41st, while Erik van Rooyen missed the cut after a second-round 70.