Hero World Challenge 2025: Scheffler Leaderboard & Round 2 Scores

by liam.oconnor - Sports Editor

Tight at the Top: Bhatia, Matsuyama, Clark, Spaun, and Young Share Lead at Hero World Challenge

The 2025 Hero World Challenge is shaping up to be a thrilling contest, with a five-way tie for the lead after two rounds at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas. Akshay Bhatia, Hideki Matsuyama, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, and Cameron Young all sit at 10-under par, setting the stage for a dramatic weekend.

Scheffler Stumbles, Remains in Contention

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler experienced a slight hiccup on Friday, carding a double bogey on the 16th hole after a wayward drive. This dropped him from 11-under to 9-under, where he ultimately finished the day. Despite the setback, Scheffler remains within striking distance, tied for sixth place alongside Alex Noren and Sepp Straka. “I think you can always take good momentum from playing well,” Scheffler stated. “I wouldn’t look too far into it if I didn’t have a good week this week, I wouldn’t really try to carry that momentum even further. But overall, I feel like it’s a good place to kind of see where my game’s at and then kind of get ready for the season. It feels like a good warmup event.”

Young’s Hot Round Propels Him into the Mix

Cameron Young delivered the most impressive round of the tournament thus far, firing a second-round 64 – the lowest of the 20 players. This surge moved him into a share of the lead alongside his fellow competitors. Young’s day included a remarkable stretch on holes 12-17, where he played 6-under. He lamented a late bogey on the 18th that prevented an even lower score. “Made a couple putts late, but it is just one of those courses where, I actually said it to Kyle yesterday, I felt like we played pretty well and comfortably could have shot 4, 5, 6 under, and the scoring made 2 [under] feel kind of bad yesterday,” Young explained. “But the reality is, day to day out here, you just can have runs of holes where it starts to feel easy, and it’s not that different to yesterday. I feel like I played pretty similarly and just made a couple putts down the stretch.”

Putting Woes Mask Clark’s Strengths, Spaun a Potential Threat

While sharing the lead, Wyndham Clark admitted his putting has been less than stellar through two rounds, ranking 16th out of 20 players in that category. Interestingly, co-leader J.J. Spaun currently ranks last in putting among the field, yet remains a dangerous contender, particularly if he can improve his performance with the flat stick. The current U.S. Open champion’s overall game could make him a formidable opponent.

Clark has been focusing on his full swing, recently beginning work with a swing coach for the first time in a long time. He’s simplifying his approach on the course, concentrating on a single swing thought. “Right now, I just have one swing thought when I play,” Clark said. “Like when I’m on the range, I’m thinking of a couple things that I want to do, and then while I’m playing, I’m just thinking about the heel leading the toe coming in so I have an open face. It’s just one simple thought, and that’s what I’m going with.”

Young Eyes Momentum Heading into the New Season

Young, a standout performer from the Ryder Cup, is looking to build on his recent success. The Wyndham Championship winner hopes to follow in the footsteps of past champions, using this tournament as a springboard for a strong upcoming year. In 2022, Viktor Hovland won this event before his FedEx Cup victory, and Scheffler utilized the week to fine-tune his game ahead of his dominant 2024 and 2025 campaigns. Young appears to be adopting a similar mindset. “It certainly can,” Young said of the potential for momentum. “I’m kind of not using the week as practice, but I’m using the week to try to build on some things that we’ve been doing and less so looking at the results just because I haven’t played any competition in the last couple months. So, it’s more just an opportunity to keep building on what we were doing mentally. I don’t think the result is necessarily going to dictate the outcome. I think it’s going to be more kind of how we go through our process and how we attack the golf course.”

Matsuyama Seeks a Strong Finish to the Year

Hideki Matsuyama, who enjoyed a record-setting victory at the Sentry to start the year, aims to end his 2025 season with another win. After a relatively quiet season following his win in Hawaii, Matsuyama is showcasing a strong performance through 36 holes, leading the field in driving accuracy and ranking inside the top five in putting. Despite typically excelling with his irons, he currently sits near the bottom in that statistic. “I’ve been working on everything … we won the first in Hawaii, but didn’t play well the rest of the season,” Matsuyama said. “So, trying to play well [the] next two days and looking forward to next season.” The tournament promises a captivating finish as these five players battle for the lead at Albany Golf Club.

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