Paul Casey, whose win in the 2018 Valspar Championship was his first on the PGA Tour in nine years, shot a second-round 66 and takes a share of the lead into the clubhouse at this year’s event.
Casey’s only blemish came on the final hole, the difficult par-4 18th, the closing hole in what they call the ‘Snake Pit’ at Innisbrook. Casey went into a bunker off the tee, went into another bunker near the green before taking his bogey
Casey opened his Friday round with birdies on 10, 11 and 14. He then birdied No. 1 after making the turn and punctuated his round with a 27-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 fifth hole.
Casey has played well this season, making seven cuts in the nine events he’s entered. All seven of the cuts he made ended up with a finish in the top 25 or better, including a second at Pebble Beach and a T-3 at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
One of his missed cuts came last week at The Players Championship when he shot 78-74 and ended up just a shot ahead of last place.
But he’s bounced back and how heads to the weekend with a chance to repeat at the Valspar.
Earlier in the week, Casey surprised a 12-year-old fan who was colorblind with some special glasses and access inside the ropes at Innisbrook.
