Watch: Scottie Scheffler on LIV golfers returning to PGA Tour
Scottie Scheffler spoke about the potential for some LIV Golf players to return to the PGA Tour during a press conference at the BMW Championship.
The BMW Championship is in full swing as the PGA Tour returns to Bellerive Country Club for the second event of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Wyndham Clark finished out Round 2 as the leader on Friday, Aug. 21.
The lead changed several times with players including Rory McIlroy, Gary Woodland and Clark racing to the top of a star-studded leaderboard. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler rebounded after a rough start to Round 1.
USA TODAY Sports tracked all the action Friday with live updates on the latest leaderboard movements.
The field is loaded with big names since only the top 50 golfers in the FedEx Cup points standings after last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship qualified for the BMW Championship.
The top 30 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings after Sunday’s final round will move on to the Tour Championship in Atlanta next week. It means there’s intrigue atop the leaderboard, as well as on the bubble, as the world’s best try to make it to next week’s Tour Championship. Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas are among those battling for the final spots to close out the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Here are live updates from Round 2 at the BMW Championship, including Friday’s scores, the current leaderboard, highlights from the course and how to watch the second event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs:
- 1. Wyndham Clark: -12 (F)
- 2. Gary Woodland: -11 (F)
- 3. J.J. Spaun: -10 (F)
- T4. Chris Gotterup: -9 (F)
- T4. Sungjae Im: -9 (F)
- T6. Patrick Cantlay: -8 (F)
- T6. Michael Thorbjornsen: -8 (F)
- T8. Rory McIlroy: -7 (F)
- T8. Russell Henley: -7 (F)
- T8. Maverick McNealy: -7 (F)
- T8. Collin Morikawa: -7 (F)
➤ Complete BMW Championship leaderboard
Wyndham Clark finishes out the second round with a one-stroke lead over Gary Woodland.
This might be a fairytale tournament for Gary Woodland, who’s a fan favorite playing near his home state of Kansas in St. Louis at the BMW Championship. He just closed a round of 65 on Friday, after carding a 64 to tie for the Round 1 lead on Thursday, and grabbed sole possession of first place on the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies at No. 17 and No. 18. They were his only birdies on the back nine, but Woodland was steady throughout with no bogeys for the day.
Woodland has authored a remarkable comeback story already after returning to the PGA Tour following brain surgery. He admitted again earlier this week that he’s still dealing with the effects of those health issues, but his play has been stellar through two rounds.
There is a $20 million purse on the line at the 2026 BMW Championship, with the winner of the second FedEx Cup playoff event set to take home $3.6 million. Even the last-place finisher is guaranteed $66,000 with no cut and a 50-golfer field.
The defending Open champion was in one of the last groups to tee off during Round 2 of the BMW Championship and he’s making a move up the leaderboard late in the day. Clark is now tied for second place at 9-under, part of a large group of contenders lurking close behind current leader in the clubhouse J.J. Spaun.
After reports that Scheffler was feeling under the weather during his underwhelming +2 during Round 1 at the BMW Championship, the world No. 1 looks healthier on Friday. He just reeled off a stretch of four birdies in five holes to move into red figures for the tournament. He’s currently seven shots back of the leaders, with the potential to move into contention on the back nine today.
Only the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings qualifty for next week’s Tour Championship. MIchael Thornbjornsen, Patrick Cantlay and Gary Woodland are the among the notable golfers who are in position to move into the top 30 based on their current spots on the BMW Championship leaderboard. Rickie Fowler, Justin Thomas and Adam Scott are among the golfers in danger of finishing outside the top 30.
There are 22 golfers with a 100% chance to make the Tour Championship based on their FedEx Cup points ahead of the BMW Championship, according to datagolf.com, which leaves seven spots up for grabs among 28 golfers this week at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis.
Gary Woodland has grabbed a share of the lead during Round 2 of the BMW Championship with back-to-back birdies at No. 7 and No. 8. His comeback story is enjoying another feel-good moment this week with Woodland playing close to his Kansas roots at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis.
“Woodland, 42, is enjoying his “home game” this week,” Golfweek’s Adam Schupak wrote. “He grew up 3½ hours away in Topeka, Kansas, but called Bellerive the closest he’s ever gotten to playing at home in his 18-year Tour career. On Thursday, his outfit contained primarily black and gold, the colors of University of Missouri and not the colors of rival University of Kansas, Woodland’s alma mater. Did he dress in the dark?”
Woodland also played well at Bellerive in 2018 at the PGA Championship and appears to positioned to lock up a spot in the Tour Championship by moving comfortably into the top 30 of the FedEx Cup standings.
Gotterup’s tee shot at No. 5 officially landed one inch from the hole, according to PGA Tour stats. He also birdied No. 8 to move back into the top five of the leaderboard at the BMW Championship.
The 2025 U.S. Open champion has suddenly opened up a four-shot lead on Michael Thorbjornsen and Rory McIlroy after three-straight birdies by Spaun coincided with a bogey by Thorbjornsen to close the front nine. Spaun told reporters this week he’s back to using the same putter he had at that 2025 win and it appears to be working. This sequence began with a 26-foot birdie putt at No. 3, followed by birdies of 10 feet and 12 feet on ensuing two holes.
Less than a month removed from his first PGA Tour win, 24-year old Michael Thorbjornsen has stormed out to the lead to begin Round 2 of the 2026 BMW Championship. The Massachusetts native and Stanford product birdied his first two holes, then grabbed the outright lead with another birdie at No. 7. He capped off the early sequence with a 35-foot birdie putt at No. 8 to move to 8-under for the tournament.
BMW Championship Friday Round 2 tee times
Listed below is the full tee sheet for the second round of the BMW Championship. All times ET.
- 10:03 a.m. – Patrick Cantlay, Ryo Hisatsune
- 10:14 a.m. – Michael Thorbjornsen, Nico Echavarria
- 10:25 a.m. – Jake Knapp, Alex Noren
- 10:36 a.m. – Robert MacIntyre, Rickie Fowler
- 10:47 a.m. – Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele
- 11:05 a.m. – Bud Cauley, Nicolai Hojgaard
- 11:16 a.m. – Viktor Hovland, J.J. Spaun
- 11:27 a.m. – J.T. Poston, Kurt Kitayama
- 11:38 a.m. – Ryan Gerard, Min Woo Lee
- 11:49 a.m. – Chris Gotterup, Tommy Fleetwood
- 12:07 p.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Matt Fitzpatrick
- 12:18 p.m. – Russell Henley, Jacob Bridgeman
- 12:29 p.m. – Maverick McNealy, Matt McCarty
- 12:40 p.m. – Justin Thomas, Sahith Theegala
- 12:51 p.m. – Sepp Straka, Sungjae Im
- 1:09 p.m. – Aaron Rai, Ben Griffin
- 1:20 p.m. – Gary Woodland, Adam Scott
- 1:31 p.m. – Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg
- 1:42 p.m. – Ryan Fox, Tom Kim
- 1:53 p.m. – Justin Rose, Alex Smalley
- 2:11 p.m. – Kristoffer Reitan, Alex Fitzpatrick
- 2:22 p.m. – Akshay Bhatia, Hideki Matsuyama
- 2:33 p.m. – Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns
- 2:44 p.m. – Cameron Young, Si Woo Kim
- 2:55 p.m. – Michael Brennan, Eric Cole
Watch the BMW Championship with Fubo
How to watch the BMW Championship: TV, live streaming
Here’s a look at the TV and streaming schedule for Friday’s Round 2 action at the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club outside St. Louis:
