Farmers Insurance Open 2020: Ryan Palmer Holds 2-Stroke Lead After 2nd Round

Ryan Palmer submitted the most impressive second round of the 2020 Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in San Diego on Friday afternoon. 

Palmer shot 10 under par in the round and leads the field with a nine-under overall entering Saturday's moving day. He rocketed 70 slots up the leaderboard with 11 birdies. The 43-year-old entered this tournament owning two top-10 finishes so far in 2020.

Palmer battled with Brandt Snedeker for the lead down the stretch:

Palmer pulled away when he birdied the 16th and 17th holes and Snedeker bogeyed at 16. Snedeker, who won this tournament in 2012 and 2016, entered the second round in a 14-way tie for 21st at three under par and three shots off the lead. 

Snedeker wasn't able to catch Palmer for the lead, but he will enter moving day with plenty of momentum:

The opening-round leaders were Sebastian Cappelen and Keegan Bradley, who dropped into a tie for third and seventh, respectively, after the second round. Bradley shot even par and is six under through 36 holes, while Cappelen shot one under to move to seven under overall.

Friday's Second-Round Leaderboard

1. Ryan Palmer (-10)

2. Brandt Snedeker (-8)

T3. J.B. Holmes (-7)

T3. Jhonattan Vegas (-7)

T3. Sebastian Cappelen (-7)

T3. Matthew NeSmith (-7)

T7. Beau Hossler (-6)

T7. Keegan Bradley (-6)

T7. Zac Blair (-6)

T7. Patrick Reed (-6)

T7. Harry Higgs (-6)

Full scoreboard available at PGATour.com 

Matthew NeSmith, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Kevin Tway were among those tied for third at five under at Thursday's end. NeSmith tallied three birdies (Nos. 6, 13 and 17) to remain near the top of the leaderboard.

McIlroy and Watson, meanwhile, each fell into a tie for 17th after going one over on Friday.  

Tiger Woods, a seven-time Farmers Insurance Open champion, was responsible for one of the day's hotter streaks:

Woods, who last won this event in 2013, bogeyed twice (No. 12, 17) on the back nine to finish the day one under and holds a four-under score through 36 holes. 

Jordan Spieth is tied in 17th with Woods and 19 others. The 26-year-old 2015 Masters champion shot a two-under—he has scored a 70 on both days so far—and gave insight into his approach:

Reigning Farmers Insurance champion Justin Rose (+1) headlined notable players to miss the one-under cut line. Others included Phil Mickelson (+1), Rickie Fowler (E) and Xander Schauffele (E).

Saturday's third round is scheduled to tee off at 8:30 a.m. PT on the south end of the course.