Ewart in contention, Koepka makes the cut at PGA National after second round of Cognizant Classic

Koepka only hit six of 14 fairways on Friday but putted the ball far better and made six birdies — four more than he had in Round 1.

“I hit it a lot worse today,” Koepka said. “Didn’t drive it nearly as good. Iron play wasn’t as good, but the putter was better. Made a few adjustments after the round yesterday.”

Smotherman stayed red-hot, with a 55-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th among the highlights as he took a three-shot lead into the weekend. Taylor Moore is second, solo at 8 under after his second consecutive 67. A.J Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., (64, the round of the day) is at 7 under, tied for third with Nico Echavarria (72).

Ewart played his college golf at Barry University in Miami Shores, maybe a 90-minute drive or so from Palm Beach Gardens. He’s been to the Cognizant before as a fan and remembers following Koepka around in the past — though confessed some of the memories are hazy. “Couple too many drinks sitting in the Bear Trap,” he said, referring the stretch of holes 15 through 17 at PGA National.

“Coming into the week, I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it,” Ewart said. “Somewhat of a home game, yeah. It feels good.”

Koepka thought he’d be playing the first two rounds with Daniel Berger — another Palm Beach County player — and Will Zalatoris. But Zalatoris withdrew shortly before Round 1 with an ankle injury, giving Silverman a chance to get into the field as an alternate.

Silverman — who is from Thornhill, Ont., and lives in Jupiter, about a 15-minute drive from the course that Cognizant calls home — put together rounds of 73-67 to make the weekend. He missed the cut by four shots at PGA National last year in this event. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (65) and Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., (72) are also into the weekend at 2 under.

“My focus going into the week was I’m taking a week off at home, and if I get in, great. I was 15th alternate Sunday. I moved to 13th Monday morning, then that moved to fourth Monday afternoon, and the three guys in front of me I knew were committed to Argentina, so once they pulled out Wednesday, then it was, ‘Maybe I’ve got a chance now,’” Silverman said. “I was pretty excited when it happened.”

He was also pretty tired when the first two rounds were done. Back-to-back days of 4:30 a.m. alarms — with about 18 hours of being at the course in that span — will do that to someone. He went through two gym sessions and two warm-ups on Thursday morning even before getting the call that Zalatoris couldn’t play.

“It was awesome,” Silverman said. “Honestly, I would love to play in a group like that every day, major winners, multiple PGA Tour winners. It’s a different vibe, different energy amongst the players, amongst the crowd. I like that environment. That’s where I want to be. Thanks to Will, unfortunately, but throwing me in that position was fortunate.”

Added Koepka: “I think he’ll enjoy his sleep tonight.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

The Associated Press

by The Canadian Press

Ewart in contention, Koepka makes the cut at PGA National after second round of Cognizant Classic

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