Hirata's bogey-free 64 catches Blanchet at the top in Bermuda

The two players sharing the lead of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship both started the week outside the top 100, the line for keeping a card: Kensei Hirata 176th in the FedExCup Fall standings, Chandler Blanchet 114th. Hirata went round Port Royal in a bogey-free 64 on Friday, with seven birdies, the first of them from 17 feet at the 1st, to join Blanchet on −13. His best halfway position on the PGA TOUR until now was a share of second at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, where he opened with a 64.

“This is the first time in contention in a while, so I think I’ll feel a lot of emotions on the weekend,” Hirata said. He has won six times on the Japan Golf Tour, four of them in 2024, and is 430th in the world.

Blanchet, who led by one after his opening 62, shot 67, with a birdie at the last. He pulled his drive at the par-four 18th over the left-hand bunker, onto a slope with the ball above his feet and a blind view of a front pin. His wedge stopped about five feet away, and he holed the putt. “It was kind of a fun, creative one,” he said.

Pos	Player	To par	R1	R2
T1	Kensei Hirata	−13	65	64
T1	Chandler Blanchet	−13	62	67
T3	Seamus Power	−12	66	64
T3	Corey Conners	−12	63	67
T3	Eric Cole	−12	65	65
T3	Ben Silverman	−12	63	67
T3	Danny Walker	−12	63	67
T8	David Skinns	−11	68	63
T8	Denny McCarthy	−11	67	64
T8	Greyson Sigg	−11	67	64
T8	Austin Smotherman	−11	65	66
T8	Ben Kohles	−11	63	68

Power one back

Seamus Power, the 2022 champion, started the week 103rd in the standings. His bogey-free 64 puts him a shot off the lead and projects him to 89th. “So for me, trying to get back into that top 100, get yourself back to full status,” he said. Eric Cole, the only player in the field who finished last season in the FedExCup top 50, has shot 65 twice.

Greyson Sigg’s 64 was the first round in the event’s history in which a player hit all 18 greens in regulation. David Skinns shot the day’s low round, a 63, to reach a share of eighth.

The only player to lead or share the lead after 36 holes in Bermuda and go on to win is Brendon Todd, in 2019. The wind has stayed below its usual strength for two days, about 10–15 mph with gusts to 18 mph on Friday, and stronger gusts are forecast for the weekend.

The cut

The cut fell at −5. Seventy-two players made it, three of them amateurs; Kihei Akina is the best of them, tied 13th on −9. Three players who started the week between 96th and 99th will not add to their points: Taylor Pendrith (96th) missed by a shot, Chandler Phillips (98th) missed too, and Max Greyserman (99th) withdrew during the second round with a back injury. Lee Hodges, who started 100th, is through to the weekend. Adam Schenk, the defending champion, finished on +2, and Camilo Villegas, the 2023 winner, on −3. Nick Jones, on level par, was the closer of the two Bermudians to the cut.

Saturday tee times in GMT

The third round starts at 12:50 GMT from the 1st and 10th tees. Hirata, Blanchet and Power go off the 1st at 14:51, behind Conners, Cole and Silverman at 14:40. Golf Channel’s coverage starts at 17:00 GMT and ends at 20:00.

Sources

• PGA TOUR: Official leaderboard, Butterfield Bermuda Championship
• PGA TOUR: Round 3 tee times
• Southern Sports Today (AP): Kensei Hirata joins Chandler Blanchet atop Bermuda leaderboard
• Yahoo Sports: Chandler Blanchet and Kensei Hirata share the lead in Bermuda
• Yahoo Sports: Bermuda’s rookie leaders have more than a trophy within reach
• Yahoo Sports: Max Greyserman withdraws from the Butterfield Bermuda Championship
• Golf Today: Butterfield Bermuda Championship 2026 R2 leaderboard
• Yahoo Sports: Third-round tee times and how to watch