Aaron Rai delivered a powerful finish on the front nine to card a 4-under-par 67 on Friday, securing a one-stroke lead heading into the weekend at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Classic.
Rai is among the few players in this opposite-field event—which serves as an alternate for this week’s Truist Championship—who have already qualified for next week’s PGA Championship. The winner of this tournament, if not already eligible, will earn a spot in that major.
Starting his round on the back nine, the Englishman managed only one birdie on those holes before catching fire on the front nine. He birdied four of the first seven holes, then closed with back-to-back pars to reach 10-under 132.
As the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 42, Rai remained mindful not to let that status alter his approach at Dunes Golf and Beach Club.
“Everyone starts at the same playing field on Thursday, and everyone who is in this field is good enough to win. No one has any rights to walk in and play well and compete,” Rai said. “Just try to approach it as I would any tournament. Prepare as well as I can and, yeah, just run through as many good routines as I can during the week.”
One stroke back at 9 under are Brandt Snedeker (66) and Mark Hubbard (67). Snedeker went bogey-free with five birdies on Friday, while Hubbard traded three bogeys with three birdies on the front nine before going 4 under on the back, including consecutive birdies on Nos. 9–12.
“Overall just found something in my putting,” Hubbard said. “I wasn’t really feeling that great early with it. Then just kind of found a little setup cue that turned things around and gained some confidence from there.”
Kevin Roy (66) and South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout (67) round out the top five at 8 under.
Round 1 leader Martin Laird of Scotland slipped with a 4-over 75 on Friday, falling into a tie for 30th at 3 under.
Brooks Koepka, who played alongside Rai the first two days, shot 1 under in the second round and sits tied for 22nd at 4 under entering the weekend.
