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At the 2026 Baycurrent Classic, Keith Mitchell and Jacob Bridgeman are tied atop the leaderboard after two rounds, each at 11-under par. Mitchell's second round featured a remarkable front nine with six birdies, yet he was overshadowed by playing partner Ben Kohles, who fired a 9-under 62 at Yokohama Country Club near Tokyo.
Kohles, who opened with an even-par 71, made five birdies and an eagle on the front nine to shoot 29, eventually signing for the lowest round of the day. Despite his stellar play, Kohles sits two shots behind the leaders in a four-way tie for third at 9-under, alongside Zach Bauchou, Max Homa, and Mac Meissner.
Mitchell praised Kohles' performance, saying, "Watching Ben shoot 29 on the front, I thought I played amazing and I lost to him, he played unbelievable. I really thought he was going to shoot 59 or 58, he was playing so good. It was great to have that momentum in the group and kind of feed off that, that helped." Kohles jokingly responded, "It's always tough to play with Keith, he's pretty much a pain every time I hang out with him, so just tried to stay away from him as much as I could. Just a shame to see Keith make so many putts. Don't think I'll have to play with him tomorrow, which is great."
Mitchell, known as "Cashmere Keith" among golf enthusiasts, has been exceptional on the greens, ranking fifth in strokes gained putting and first in putts per green in regulation. After his blazing front nine, he cooled off on the back, bogeying the 10th and 16th holes, but countered with birdies at the 15th and 18th. He has finished inside the top 30 in all three of his career starts at the PGA Tour's Japan event, including a T-10 at this tournament last year.
"I love it over here," Mitchell said. "It's always on my schedule, I love Japan. I think just the energy here just helps me play a little bit better for some reason."
Bridgeman's Consistent Excellence
Jacob Bridgeman, who has been on a tear recently, followed his opening-round 63 with a 3-under 68 on Friday to maintain a share of the lead. Three weeks ago, he won the Biltmore Championship in Asheville, and a week later, he sank the winning putt for the U.S. at the 2026 Presidents Cup. Now, he's eyeing his third PGA Tour victory of the year.
"I didn't quite have the same game I had yesterday today so it was a little bit more difficult to make as many birdies, but I think I kind of realized that early and was able to play kind of conservative and plot my way around the course," Bridgeman said. "Navigated it pretty good, was able to post a good number."
Bridgeman's short game has been a key asset, as he ranks 11th in strokes gained putting and has converted 8 of 9 scrambling opportunities, the highest percentage in the field through two rounds. He added, "I didn't have quite the command of my irons that I did yesterday so that was mainly the difference, but I still knocked in a few good ones. I think birdieing [hole No. 1] was big. I was able to hit what I thought was a pretty good shot and went up there about 30 feet and then knocked it in. It was a nice start to the round."
Looking ahead, Bridgeman said, "Being able to win and hoist the trophy at the end of the week is just the coolest thing. I've been able to experience it twice this year and three would be just magic. I don't know how many times guys win three times in a year, so that would be pretty special."
Homa in Contention, Keeping Up with Dodgers
Max Homa, a Southern California native, is tied for third at 9-under and just two shots off the lead, seeking his first victory in over three years. The 35-year-old bounced back from a shaky start on Friday, making a double-bogey at the par-4 14th before reeling off five consecutive birdies on the front nine to post a 3-under 68.
"I just liked that I hung in there, I didn't panic," Homa said. "Had a really weird like 40 minutes out there around 14, but just happy I didn't try to reinvent the wheel or anything. I was playing well. Hung in there, made a lot of great pars and a double putt. I don't know, just toughed it out, so that was good, and then waited till it clicked and then got rolling on my back nine."
Homa, an avid Los Angeles sports fan, has been following the Dodgers' postseason run from Japan. The team clinched an NLDS victory over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday to advance to the NLCS for the third straight year. "It's fun, I get to watch before I play so I'm not stressed while I play, so that's nice," Homa said. "Shout out to T-Mobile, they've got the plug for the MLB app so I can still watch over here so that's been fun. Yesterday I had the phone out on the putting green while I was warming up so I got to watch a little bit. It's a unique thing, 7 a.m., 8 a.m. starts is wild. At least when they won it set the day off in the right direction."
Homa will join the co-leaders in the final group for the third round, teeing off at 10:36 a.m. local time Saturday in Japan, which is 9:36 p.m. ET Friday night in the U.S.
For complete scores, visit the 2026 Baycurrent Classic live leaderboard.
Originally reported by yahoo.