3M Open 2020: Michael Thompson, Richy Werenski Tied for Lead After Round 2

Michael Thompson and Richy Werenski have a share of the lead of the 3M Open through 36 holes at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minnesota.

Thompson went five under in the second round, while Werenski was four under on the day to move to 12 under, one shot better than Talor Gooch and Tony Finau. Gooch climb up the leaderboard with Friday's second-lowest score (six-under 65) but was unable to claw his way into first.

Bubba Watson, Brooks Koepka, Paul Casey and Tommy Fleetwood were among those who finished below the two-under cut line.

3M Open Leaderboard

T1. Michael Thompson (-12)

T1. Richy Werenski (-12)

T3. Tony Finau (-11)

T3. Talor Gooch (-11)

5. Xinjun Zhang (-10)

T6. Matthew Wolff (-9)

T6. Cameron Davis (-9)

T8. Bo Van Pelt (-8)

T8. Charl Schwartzel (-8)

T8. Patrick Rodgers (-8)

T8. Nick Watney (-8)

Full leaderboard available on PGATour.com

Werenski, a 28-year-old Massachusetts native, owned a one-shot advantage over Thompson after Thursday's play. Both golfers made the turn at three under in the second round. A birdie on No. 17 proved to be what Thompson, a 35-year-old from Arizona, needed to move into a tie for first.

Werenski closed well, carding two birdies over his final four holes. He sank a difficult putt on No. 8 to improve to 12 under.

Given how tightly packed the standings are and how low the scores have been, Thompson and Werenski can't afford to slip up over the weekend.

Both Finau and Gooch were dialed in, and the latter may have claimed the lead for himself if he had been better with his putter.

According to PGATour.com, Finau lost 0.590 strokes putting in the round while gaining 4.043 strokes on his approach to the green. He had the right idea on No. 6, when he holed out from 81 yards for an eagle.

Likewise, Gooch might come away slightly disappointed he couldn't track down the leaders. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 3 and 4 put him at 11 under.

The 28-year-old Oklahoman had five more holes to get one more birdie but reeled off five straight pars before heading to the clubhouse.

Harris English caught fire to begin his round. The 31-year-old from Georgia was already at five under when he made the turn to No. 1. His momentum cooled over the remainder of the day, and he had back-to-back bogeys to wrap up play.

Still, English owns a share of 12th place, 45 spots better than when he began the day, and he gave himself a puncher's chance at his first PGA Tour title in 2020.

Neither Koepka nor Fleetwood could build much momentum to guarantee themselves a place in the third round. They both had moments that simultaneously showed off their skill and partially explained why they were fighting to make the cut.

Koepka walked into the bunker on No. 11 to discover the proverbial fried egg as his ball was buried deep into the sand. His chip rolled to within four feet of the cup, but he missed his par putt and settled for a bogey.

Fleetwood, meanwhile, was bogged down in the heavy stuff when his tee shot on No. 15 sailed left. He somehow saved par thanks to this excellent approach.

Weather could be a factor over the final two days of the 3M Open.

The forecast calls for a 43 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms to begin at 10 a.m. CT and continue throughout Saturday. The outlook isn't any better for Sunday, with a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms.