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CareerBuilder Challenge: Round Two Takeaways
PGA Tour

CareerBuilder Challenge: Round Two Takeaways

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:01 p.m. ET

Jan 20, 2017; La Quinta, CA, USA; Hudson Swafford hits off the ninth fringe during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at PGA West – Nicklaus Private Course. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Two rounds of the CareerBuilder Challenge are in the books, here are few takeaways before the weekend gets underway.

At the TPC Stadium course, there are three different courses that are used for the tournament. This week, golfers were out on all three which are named the Stadium Course, La Quinta Country Club, and the Nicklaus Tournament course. After 36 holes at the CareerBuilder Challenge, Hudson Swafford has risen to the top of the leaderboard.

Swafford started his week on Thursday by playing on the La Quinta Country Club course at which he scored a seven-under 65. In the second round, Swafford made his way to the Nicklaus Tournament Course where he again carded a seven-under 65.

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Swafford now sits at 14-under for the tournament but he is only holding on to a one stroke lead. Dominic Bozzelli and Danny Lee are in tie for second place at 13-under for the tournament.

Before the weekend gets underway, take a look at a few takeaways from the first two rounds out in California.

Jan 19, 2017; La Quinta, CA, USA; Phil Mickelson tees off on the second during the first round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at La Quinta Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

Phil Mickelson Dazzling In 2017 Debut

It has been quite some time since Phil Mickelson last played in a PGA Tour event. Well, not actually that long but it certainly feels like its been ages since Lefty has been out playing. Mickelson last played in a PGA Tour event when the new PGA Tour season began with the Safeway Open back in October. He fared quite well as he notched a top-10 finish by scoring a 14-under tournament score and placing in eighth. Since then, he has been dealing with injuries that have caused him to have two surgeries for a sports hernia.

Finally healthy enough to play, Mickelson is back to playing at a tournament that he has already won, twice. After two rounds of his 2017 calendar year debut, Lefty is turning heads with two stellar rounds. Any rust from not playing for a few months has seemed to quickly disappear. Lefty started his debut off by playing the La Quinta Country Club course and quickly asserted he wasn’t messing around. He drained five birdies and just one bogey to lead himself to a four-under 68.

In the second round, he only improved as he managed to add six birdies and an eagle to just two bogeys on the Nicklaus Tournament Course. His six-under 66 helped propel him to his current 10-under tournament score. Mickelson is now in a tie for sixth place, four strokes back from Hudson Swafford’s leading pace.

Aug 11, 2016; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Danny Lee (NZL) tees off on the 4th hole during round 1 of the men’s golf in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games at Olympic Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

Danny Lee Looking For First Win Of Young Season

Its been a rocky start in the 2016-17 PGA Tour season for Danny Lee as he is yet to record a top-10 or even a top-40 finish for that matter. Lee has already played in four events in the current PGA Tour season, making the CareerBuilder Challenge his fifth. However, those four events haven’t gone so well.

In the opening tournament of the 2016-17 PGA Tour season, the Safeway Open, Lee struggled to get things going and eventually placed in 50th, well out of contention. The next tournament, the CIMB Classic, Lee saw similar results as he only managed to place in 51st. In the next two tournaments he played in, he didn’t even make it to the final round. He missed the cut at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and then had to withdraw from the OHL Classic at Mayakoba with a migraine.

After the rocky start, Lee is playing his best golf of the PGA Tour season this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge. Lee started his week by draining seven birdies to just two bogeys on the Stadium Course for a five-under 67. He then followed up with that by posting a bogey free second round on the La Quinta Country Club course. With eight birdies, Lee was in the clubhouse with an eight-under 64 and a spot near the top of the leaderboard. He is now in a tie for second place with just a one stroke deficit.

Jan 20, 2017; La Quinta, CA, USA; Dominic Bozzelli hits a fairway shot on the first hole during the second round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at La Quinta Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

CareerBuilder Challenge – Day Two Leaderboard

1. Hudson Swafford – (-14)

T2. Dominic Bozelli – (-13)

T2. Danny Lee – (-13)

T4. Brendan Steele – (-12)

T4. Brian Harmon – (-12)

T6. Greg Owen – (-10)

T6. Martin Laird – (-10)

T6. Phil Mickelson – (-10)

T9. Chad Campbell – (-9)

T9. Chris Kirk – (-9)

T9. Charles Howell III – (-9)

Who do you expect to kick on over the weekend? Let us know in the comments below!

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