Isaiah Salinda holed a late birdie putt as he and Kevin Velo secured a one-shot lead at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Friday at TPC Louisiana in Avondale, La.
Salinda and Velo opened the team event with a 58, a tournament record for four-ball (best ball). Friday’s action was foursomes (alternate shot), and Salinda and Velo managed a 3-under-par 69 to hang on to the lead at 17-under 127.
They started on the back nine and went 1 over par before rolling in birdies at Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Salinda made a birdie from close to 12 feet away at No. 8 to break a tie with Andrew Novak and Ben Griffin.
Novak and Griffin turned in a 66 earlier in the day to get to 16 under. Danish twin brothers Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard shot a 70 and sit in third at 15 under.
Defending champions Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland and Shane Lowry of Ireland were in contention before bogeys at Nos. 13, 17 and 18. They settled for a 69 and are tied for 16th at 11 under.
Only 36 out of 80 teams made the cut of 10 under or better. English brothers Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick (9 under) won’t see the weekend.
World No. 4 Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama followed an opening-round 61 with a disastrous 75 and missed the cut at 8 under. They made two double bogeys over their final six holes, both triggered when Kitayama launched his drive into the water.
The third round Saturday returns to the four-ball format and Sunday’s final round will be foursomes.