Hayden Springer ties course record, surges to lead at Fortinet Cup Championship

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Just in case you needed further proof that the rising stars on the PGA Tour Canada are really, really good …

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For the second time in September, Hayden Springer sizzled to a course-record score.

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Springer, who signed for a 9-under 62 in Friday’s second round of the 2023 Fortinet Cup Championship on the Talons at Country Hills, is hoping this one will last a little longer.

“Last week (in Minnesota), I had it for like a day and then Taylor Funk took it,” said the 26-year-old Springer, who has surged to a one-stroke lead at the midway mark of this four-round showdown. “I don’t know if I have any other course records. The more course records you can get, I think that’s a pretty good thing.”

Yes, indeed.

Especially when you consider that Springer shares this record rip with some impressive company. Lee Hodges and Taylor Pendrith, now full-timers on the PGA Tour, are among those who have previously romped around the 7,179-yard Talons track in just 62 shots.

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Springer, who hails from Nashville and was a collegiate standout at TCU, wasn’t the only guy to take it really low Friday in near-ideal conditions.

Derek Hitchner also signed for a 62 in the second round.

Funk, Chris Korte and George Markham all checked in at 63.

There were four more sharpshooters at 64. In the 60-player field, only three dudes failed to shoot under par.

On the overall tournament leaderboard, Springer is out front at 14-under 128. Hitchner is hot on his heels at 13-under, while Alex Scott is two off the pace. There is a logjam at 11-under that includes Funk, Korte, Markham, Eric Lilleboe and Corey Shaun.

While Springer would love to hang onto that competitive course record for more than 24 hours, there’s another perch that is even more coveted.

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With a triumph at the PGA Tour Canada finale, he’d have a chance to rocket to the top of the Fortinet Cup points race. The perks of the No. 1 spot include a Player of the Year nod, a Korn Ferry Tour card for 2024 and an exemption to tee it up next week on the PGA Tour. (The Nos. 2-5 finishers will also score Korn Ferry status for the upcoming campaign, but only the top dog will be fully exempt.)

Sam Choi and Davis Lamb, who arrived as the Fortinet Cup frontrunners, have been stuck in neutral at Country Hills, which is why Springer has moved atop the projected end-of-season standings. (Choi is 1-under for the event, and Lamb is one better.)

“I’m trying not to think too much about that and trying to just focus on each day, each shot,” Springer insisted. “We all want to finish in that No. 1 spot. I mean, you come out here to play and to win and to hopefully finish No. 1. But I’m not going to think a whole lot about it and try to play the best I possibly can these next two days.

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“It’s a great position to be in, but I don’t think it’s all that effective to think a lot about the future, the finishing spot. I can’t control what everybody else is doing. But winning this golf tournament is what I can do. Wherever that puts me in the end, that’s where we’ll be. And hopefully it is No. 1.”

With scores like 62 out there, it could set up to be a wild weekend.

“I mean, we all want to go down swinging,” Springer smiled after his record-tying spin in the second round. “And hopefully we do.”

CHIP SHOTS: Friday’s scoring average was 67.5. Whoa … There are a hat-trick of Canadians at 8-under 134 — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., and Etienne Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. Calgary’s Brendan MacDougall, the lone local in the field, is at 2-under after back-to-back rounds of 70 … Saturday’s third-round tee-times run from 8:30 a.m.-1:20 p.m.

wgilbertson@postmedia.com

Twitter.com/WesGilbertson

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