Tournament of Champions 2021: Harris English Moves into Lead with 2nd-Round 67

Harris English took sole possession of first place at the 2021 Sentry Tournament of Champions on Friday, breaking a tie with Justin Thomas after Thursday's opening round. 

The Georgia native opened up a two-stroke lead over the field as he seeks his first PGA victory in eight years. 

Here's a look at the leaderboard after two rounds of play on the Plantation Course at the Kapalua Resort in Hawaii.

Round 2 Leaderboard

1. Harris English (-14)

T2. Daniel Berger (-12)

T2. Colin Morikawa (-12)

T2. Ryan Palmer (-12)

T2. Justin Thomas (-12)

T6. Xander Schauffele (-11)

T6. Brendon Todd (-11)

T6. Sungjae Im (-11)

T6. Patrick Reed (-11)

Notables: T10. Dustin Johnson (-10), T10. Jon Rahm (-10), T10. Bryson DeChambeau (-10), T17. Viktor Hovland (-9), T22. Sergio Garcia (-8)

Full leaderboard available via PGAtour.com. 

Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Daniel Berger carved up the course Friday as each finished with a 65 in their second round. That lifted Berger and Morikawa into a tie for second place while Johnson sits two strokes back and tied for tenth. 

It was a particularly impressive round for Johnson, who shot a 71 on Thursday before rallying back on Day 2. 

The No. 1-ranked golfer in the world played a bogey-free round with eight birdies, including five on the back nine as he works toward a third win at the Tournament of Champions. Hitting 83.33 percent of his greens in regulation certainly went a long way for Johnson as he gained a stroke on three of the four par-fives.

English did him one better, notching a birdie on each par five Friday as well as two par fours while also shooting a bogey-free round. 

After posting his own 65 on Thursday, English shot a 67 in round two to take sole possession of first place heading into the weekend. The 31-year-old made a strong push at the end of last season by finishing fourth at the U.S. Open but couldn't break through in 2020. The 2021 season may find him taking that next step. 

As far as his play in Hawaii is concerned, English seems more than ready to notch his first tour victory since 2013. 

He'll have to fend off last year's Sentry champion, Justin Thomas, and 2019 winner Xander Schauffele for the next two days to do so. It won't be easy, but it will show just where English's skills are at as the 2021 season picks up.