Round report
Ben James leads Los Cabos by one after a bogey-free 64
Rookie Ben James is 15 under after two rounds of the World Wide Technology Championship, one ahead of Peter Malnati. Darkness left five players to finish on Saturday; the projected cut is −5.
Ben James started his second round on the 10th tee at El Cardonal on Friday and ran off five straight birdies from the 17th through to the 3rd. The last of his eight came at the par-3 9th, his final hole, from about ten feet. The bogey-free 64 put the 23-year-old on 15 under par, one ahead of Peter Malnati, in the World Wide Technology Championship. His 36-hole total of 129 equals his lowest on the PGA TOUR.
It was James’s 14th round of 65 or lower in 13 starts since he turned professional in June, according to the PGA TOUR. He has four top-five finishes in that time, and he is 62nd in the FedExCup Fall standings, so his card for 2027 is not in question. A win would take him into the world’s top 50 and into the Championship Series under the tour’s new model for 2028, according to the Associated Press. He led going into the weekend once before, at the RBC Canadian Open in June, and shot 78 on Saturday. “I’ve been rolling it well and playing well, so nice to be shooting some low numbers,” he said.
Malnati shared the lead until his last hole, also the par-3 9th, where he came up short of the green and missed a 12-foot putt for par. His 64 included an eagle and seven birdies. “I work really hard on my game and I haven’t had tons to show for that lately,” he said.
| Pos | Player | To par | R1 | R2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ben James | −15 | 65 | 64 |
| 2 | Peter Malnati | −14 | 66 | 64 |
| 3 | Zac Blair | −12 | 64 | 68 |
| T4 | Stephan Jaeger | −11 | 68 | 65 |
| T4 | Denny McCarthy | −11 | 68 | 65 |
| T6 | Sudarshan Yellamaraju | −10 | 71 | 63 |
| T6 | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen | −10 | 70 | 64 |
| T6 | Lucas Glover | −10 | 70 | 64 |
| T6 | Ben Kohles | −10 | 68 | 66 |
| T6 | Austin Eckroat | −10 | 68 | 66 |
| T6 | Keith Mitchell | −10 | 68 | 66 |
| T6 | Zach Bauchou | −10 | 67 | 67 |
| T6 | Ryan Gerard | −10 | 66 | 68 |
| T6 | Blades Brown | −10 | 66 | 68 |
| T6 | Kensei Hirata | −10 | 65 | 69 |
Chris Kirk, who led by one after his bogey-free 63 on Thursday, made an eagle at the 1st on Friday but shot 72, and he is tied 16th on −9. He started the week 110th in the standings, ten places short of a full card for 2027.
Five players to finish; projected cut −5
Play was suspended for darkness at about 17:50 local time with five players still on the course, and they return at 07:20 local (14:20 GMT). The projected cut is −5. Kristoffer Ventura, with one hole left, and the amateur Preston Stout, with two, are both on that mark. Nick Dunlap, one behind Kirk after the first round, shot 75 and is in on −5. Billy Horschel and Camilo Villegas (−2), Taylor Pendrith (level par) and Matt Kuchar (+1) are projected to miss it.
On Saturday the third round starts in threes, split between the 1st and 10th tees, with times from 08:30 to 10:42 local (15:30 to 17:42 GMT). Golf Channel covers it live between 20:00 and 23:00 GMT.
Sources
- PGA TOUR: World Wide Technology Championship leaderboard
- PGA TOUR: Ben James takes one-shot lead into Moving Day at El Cardonal
- Yahoo Sports (AP): Ben James shoots flawless 64 to take the 36-hole lead in Mexico
- The Sports Leader: Budding star Ben James takes lead
- Golf Today: World Wide Technology Championship 2026 R2
- Fox Sports: 2026 World Wide Technology Championship leaderboard
- GOLF.com: 2026 World Wide Technology Championship TV and tee times
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