Laird, who is seeking a fourth PGA Tour title and first since 2013, told Sky Sports: “That was by far the best round of the week tee to green”.
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Points earned throughout the PGA Tour season determine the U.S. Ryder Cup team’s first eight spots.
Patrick Reed didn’t break anything Thursday except par.
Reed is scrambling for one of the last three automatic spots on the United States Ryder Cup team to take on holders Europe at Hazeltine outside Minneapolis from September 30-Oct. 2. Holmes moved into position with his third-place finish at the British Open, but he has been pressing since then and has missed his last three cuts.
A missed five-footer on the 16th led to a bogey before a brilliant tee shot on the par three 17th left him inches for the hole for a simple birdie.
The results? A two-stroke lead at 8-under-par 134 after two rounds at The Barclays. His caddie said driver would leave him 100 yards, and as well as he had been hitting it, he gave it a try.
South Korea’s Chun In-Gee was three behind Ariya on nine under after a see-saw five-under-par round which included an eagle, six birdies and three bogeys.
Fowler had three par putts of 10 feet or more. He still remembers that hole because it’s the only bogey he has made at Bethpage Black this week.
Two strokes behind are Emiliano Grillo and Rickie Fowler, who both shot two-under 69s.
“It was a little hard out there but I felt like I ground it out pretty good”, Day said.
He took advantage of the better conditions in the morning when the greens were softer than expected and the two par-5s on the front nine were playing downwind.
Scotland’s Martin Laird is just three off the pace after a solid 69, but Rory McIlroy failed to capitalise on an encouraging start and stuttered to a 71 which left him where he started on two under.
“The touch feels pretty good”.
Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson, Jimmy Walker and Brooks Koepka already have guaranteed trips to Hazeltine National Golf Club in late September.
Fowler won against a strong field in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year, and he lost a two-shot lead with two holes to play in the Phoenix Open. Just like that, he was around the cut line. Another player worth watching is world No. 1 Jason Day, who is four shots behind Reed. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot a 70 and is well back at three over while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask.is also in action. The defending champion says the hard work he put in last week is starting to come around, and he has big hopes in store for the weekend.
As you would expect from the start of the FedEx Cup playoffs, all of the world’s top players were present at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
The Barclays is the first event in the FedEx Cup series, while it is also the final tournament in qualifying for the Ryder Cup.
The American said he was trying to ignore all the Ryder Cup and FedEx Cup talk this week and simply wanted to concentrate on “winning for the first time this year”. Captain Davis Love III in September chooses the other four players to complete his 12-man team. Johnson is No. 7 in the standings, $188,257 ahead of Holmes, who is No. 9. “To have a few putts go in, to be able to be getting up-and-down for par and saving those shots to keep the momentum going, it makes all the difference”.
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Henderson, 18, was 1 under with three holes left when play was suspended because of darkness.
