Jacob Bridgeman ekes ahead at Valspar Championship

Jacob Bridgeman shot a 2-under-par 69 to carve out a one-shot lead over Viktor Hovland and two others at the Valspar Championship on Friday in Palm Harbor, Fla.

Bridgeman, a 25-year-old in just his 40th career start on the PGA Tour, is at 6-under 136 with a narrow edge over Norwegian star Hovland (67 on Friday), Japan's Ryo Hisatsune (66) and Byeong Hun An of South Korea (67).

"That's what everyone here wants to do; we want to be in the last group on Saturday and Sunday," Bridgeman said. "Yeah, it's kind of expectations are being in that group and finally I'm there, so hopefully, we'll see how I handle tomorrow, but today I felt super comfortable."

The highlight of Bridgeman's round was an eagle at the par-5 11th hole at the Innisbrook Resort's Copperhead Course, where he reached the green in two and sank a 10-foot putt. Bridgeman reached 7 under with a birdie at No. 14, but he bogeyed his final hole, shrinking his cushion.

"I'm pleased with how I played," said Bridgeman, who tied for second earlier this month at the Cognizant Classic. "I didn't necessarily hit it that straight any of the first two days, but seeing my misses were in good spots and when I did miss it seemed to be in bunkers where you can still reach the putting surface. The rough's pretty thick. Yeah, it was pretty good. I chipped really good all day. Made the putts that I needed to."

Hovland, 27, had missed three straight cuts before this week but found better results Friday, when he birdied five holes with a single bogey.

The six-time PGA Tour champion is trying to get his game back on track.

"You have an ability that you can almost sometimes take for granted," Hovland said. "You just wake up every day and you stand over the ball, and you just expect the ball to start in that direction and go that direction and end up somewhere close to the hole. Then it starts to not do that, it's pretty frustrating. You start thinking things you've never thought before. And this game becomes infinitely more challenging and it's already really challenging."

Another star in the Valspar field, Xander Schauffele, might be able to relate to Hovland.

The World No. 3 shot a 68 on Friday and moved into a tie for fifth at 4 under with Ireland's Shane Lowry (67), Kevin Velo (70) and Germany's Jeremy Paul (69). Schauffele made his 60th consecutive cut one week after saying his game felt "pretty gross" at The Players Championship.

"Yeah, it's a process. I'm aware of that," Schauffele said. "I feel like (caddie Austin Kaiser) and I did a decent job just trying to plot along a golf course. This is one of those places where it can get away from you quick or you can kind of hang in there and your name will be up there on Sunday late in the day. So I'm just trying to play golf."

Davis Riley (70), Ricky Castillo (72), Harry Hall of England (70), Emiliano Grillo of Argentina (68) and Victor Perez of France (70) are tied at 3 under.

When Neal Shipley bogeyed his final hole at the end of the day, the cut line moved to 2 over par. Notable names who'll miss the weekend include Zach Johnson (3 over), Webb Simpson (3 over), two-time Valspar winner Sam Burns (3 over), Jake Knapp (9 over) and Cameron Young (9 over).

--Field Level Media