Waste Management Phoenix Open 2016: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

There was a changing of the guard during Friday's action at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, with James Hahn moving into the top spot after firing a 65 that pushed his 36-hole score to 10 under par. 

It wasn't a massive sea change, however, as Thursday's co-leader Rickie Fowler is tied with Danny Lee for second place. That duo is just one shot behind Hahn heading into moving day.

For the second straight day, darkness halted play prematurely, but there were only four players left on the course. They will finish their second rounds at 10 a.m. ET on Saturday before the third round starts. 

Here's the full leaderboard after Friday's second-round action at TPC Scottsdale:

There are many reasons for Hahn's success in Arizona, not the least of which has been his ability to get up and down, as Tour Junkies noted:

Having an excellent short game is enough to cover a lot of deficiencies in other categories. Hahn is not a prolific driver, ranking 90th on tour in driving accuracy and 98th in driving distance, per PGATour.com, so his skills on the short grass and green have to carry him.

Shots like this one on the sixth hole paint a picture of someone who is catching a lot of breaks, per the PGA Tour:

Another important part of avoiding a letdown is keeping things light on the course, which Golf.com noted Hahn was doing after one of his few bad shots:

The 34-year-old doesn't have an extensive resume of success on the PGA Tour, winning just one event in his career. It came at the 2015 Northern Trust Open in a playoff against Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. 

Comparing the Waste Management Phoenix Open to that tournament, Hahn is in a much better spot after 36 holes. The South Korean star fired a 74 on Friday at the Northern Trust Open and needed consecutive rounds of 69 to force himself into the playoff mix. 

Now, while there is mounting pressure from Fowler and Lee, Hahn will come into Saturday without having to worry about catching anyone else.

Fowler, who started the tournament with a six-under 65, didn't match that performance Friday, but he was able to find his groove down the stretch and finish on a high note, per the PGA Tour:

That was the perfect capper for Fowler, who had three birdies (and one bogey) over the final six holes after having just one in the first 12. He also managed to do something that hadn't happened in a long time, per Justin Ray of the Golf Channel:

It's been an unusual start to the season for Fowler. He had back-to-back top-five finishes at the Hero World Challenge and Hyundai Tournament of Champions but missed the cut at last week's Farmers Insurance Open thanks largely to an opening-round 73. 

Consecutive rounds under 70 are a huge step in the right direction for Fowler, who has shown a knack for finishing strong. His two lowest scores at the Hero World Challenge came Saturday (65) and Sunday (64), so he looks ready to make a move.

Lee has flown under the radar because he has the lightest resume, but he'll be able to keep up with Hahn in the humor department based on his post-round comments, per D.J. Piehowski of PGATour.com:

Hideki Matsuyama, one of Thursday's co-leaders, remains in the hunt after an inconsistent Friday led him to post a 70 and finish three shots behind Hahn. He started great with three birdies on the first eight holes but gave back one shot on the back nine with a one-over 37.

Another star who had an erratic round was Phil Mickelson, who was unable to capitalize on Thursday's two-under 69. Lefty finished at even par Friday thanks to bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16 that negated two of his three birdies in the round.

Mickelson set himself up to have a strong performance in the second round with this long putt on the second hole, per the PGA Tour:

The magic of Mickelson is that he's able to push aside even the worst holes, as he showed by finishing under par Thursday despite shooting a triple bogey on the fifth hole, so making the cut must feel like a victory in itself.

According to Ray, facing a substantial deficit in this tournament after 36 holes has led to success for some players:

Mickelson has a long road ahead of him to sniff contention, but history is on his side in Scottsdale. 

For the problems that Mickelson and Matsuyama faced Friday, their rounds look golden compared to Gary Woodland's, per the PGA Tour:

Yet Woodland is in better shape than Mickelson at three under par. He will have to clean up his effort to make an impact in Phoenix. 

Friday was largely a day in which contenders kept their heads above water, putting themselves in position to move Saturday. Hahn tied for the lowest score of the day, allowing him to secure the top spot.

Given the movement around the leaderboard, combined with the unpredictable play from Hahn and Fowler, there's going to be a lot of shifting around before the Waste Management Phoenix Open concludes.