Waste Management Phoenix Open 2019: Rickie Fowler Leads by 1 Stroke After Friday

Rickie Fowler gained sole possession of first place in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Friday at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.

Fowler entered the day tied atop the leaderboard with Justin Thomas, but he birdied his last four holes of the round to shoot a six-under 65 and holds a one-shot lead over Thomas at 13 under on the tournament.

Here is a look at the top of the leaderboard, courtesy of PGATour.com:

1. Rickie Fowler: -13 (65)

2. Justin Thomas: -12 (66)

T-3. Branden Grace: -11 (64)

T-3. Trey Mullinax: -11 (64)

T-5. Matt Kuchar: -10 (65)

T-5. Cameron Smith: -10 (65)

T-7. Bubba Watson: -9 (67)

T-7. Martin Laird: -9 (68)

T-9. Byeong Hun An: -8 (68)

T-9. Charley Hoffman: -8 (68)

According to Golf Channel's Justin Ray, Fowler has never had a better 36-hole start in his PGA Tour career:

After Fowler and Thomas shot matching seven-under 64s Thursday, Fowler managed to edge JT by one shot in the second round.

Fowler was just one-under par through nine holes and two-under through 14, but his four-birdie onslaught over the final four holes shot him past Thomas and several other contenders.

All told, Fowler carded seven birdies and just one bogey during the second round.

After a birdie on No. 15, Fowler got the crowd excited on the par-three 16th with a great tee shot followed by a second straight birdie make:

That put Fowler within one shot of Thomas, and he tied for the lead by birdying the par-four 17th.

The 30-year-old American then closed out his round in style with a birdie on the par-four 18th to seize the solo lead:

Until Fowler's late run, it seemed likely that Thomas would be the leader entering Saturday's third round.

Thomas made the turn at three under and had improved his score to five under through 13 holes before carding his first and only bogey on No. 14.

He quickly erased that mistake with a birdie on the par-five 15th before parring his final three holes.

Thomas' five-under 66 included six birdies and one bogey, and it put him in solid position despite Fowler's success.

Per Ray, Thomas has never lost a PGA Tour tournament when starting with two rounds of 66 or better:

Several golfers tied Fowler's six-under effort Friday, including Matt Kuchar and Cameron Smith (tied for fifth at 10 under), and Chesson Hadley, who is at six under overall after shooting an even-par 71 in the first round.

The best rounds of the day, however, belonged to American Trey Mullinax and South Africa's Branden Grace, who shot seven-under 64s and sit just two shots off the pace in third.

After birdying No. 3, Grace—who is making his Waste Management Phoenix Open debut—sunk one of the biggest shots of his career with an ace on the par-three seventh.

While video of his hole-in-one has yet to surface, Grace discussed it after the round, via Mark McClune of CBS5 AZ:

Grace was off to the races after that with four birdies on the back nine along with an eagle on the par-five 13th.

The only blemish was his double bogey on No. 11, which saw him hit his approach into the water.

It didn't take long for Grace to make up for it with the eagle on No. 13, and he birdied three in a row on Nos. 15, 16 and 17.

The birdie on No. 16 elicited a big response from the crowd:

As seen in this look at his scorecard courtesy of the PGA Tour, Grace had some major ups and downs, but he primarily got the job done:

Some bigger names didn't fare quite so well Friday, including Phil Mickelson, who was seeking to make a cut for the 500th time in his PGA Tour career.

Instead, Mickelson missed the cut by two strokes. He shot a four-over 75 to finish the tournament at one over.

At 25, Thomas is looking for his 10th career win on the PGA Tour, which would make him the fourth-youngest player in history to reach that mark behind only Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Jack Nicklaus, according to Ray.

In Fowler, Thomas is attempting to chase down a golfer who has never won the Waste Management Phoenix Open despite being in the top five through 36 holes on five occasions.

Fowler has just four PGA Tour wins in his career, and he is seeking his first victory since 2017.

If his form over the final four holes is any indication, Fowler is undoubtedly the player to beat despite his issues closing things out at TPC Scottsdale in recent years.