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The Farmers Insurance Open Halfway Hut: Jon Rahm and Justin Thomas set for 36 hole head-to-head

News, stats, quotes and social after two rounds at Torrey Pines where the Spaniard and the American share the lead with little known Adam Schenk.

Jon Rahm continued his love affair with Torrey Pines in round two of the Farmers Insurance Open, and Justin Thomas' rekindled affection for the place was also maintained, but the two superstars were overshadowed on Thursday by the unheralded Adam Schenk.

The World No. 165 thrashed eight birdies in a row, one short of the PGA Tour record, in his 10-under-par 62 on the North Course to share the halfway lead with Rahm and Thomas on 13-under 131.
The Spaniard carded a second round 65 on the North, and Thomas a 63 in the same group, as the field went low in near-perfect conditions on the San Diego cliff tops.
Cameron Tringale is alone in fourth, one blow back of the leaders, with Peter Malnati solo fifth on 11-under and two clear of the chasing pack.
Tournament organisers have ensured they have a dynamite third round final group by sending the field out in three-balls on Friday.
It makes Schenk's task all the more difficult. He will celebrate his 30th birthday with the best group - by player and situation - of his career and yet the pressure will be immense.
He's making a fourth tournament start and is yet to finish top 50; Rahm has played the course six times, finished top seven in five of those and won twice; Thomas is a two-time course top 20 finisher.
Let's take a look at the stats, what the leading contenders had to say and the best of the social.

Stats

Ten of the last 28 winners at Torrey Pines (26 editions of this event, two US Opens) were outside the top 10 at this stage.
That's quite an unusually high number of golfers winning from off the pace, but is explained by the location - close to the ocean, vulnerable to high wind and other weather changes.
As it currently stands, there is no expectation of the late starters catching a bad break with high wind.
Jon Rahm's weekend average at Torrey Pines is 70.34, Thomas' is 71.25, Schenk's 72.00 and Tringale's 73.34.
Rahm is a surprising 0-for-6 at converting a 36 hole solo or shared lead, Thomas is 6-for-13, Schenk is in new territory.

Quotes

Jon Rahm (-13, 131)

"I'm here to win. Doesn't matter who I'm playing with. I feel like if I'm playing with a better-known name like JT, I think it makes for better TV. And for us, if we were to play together and go on to win, it would probably be a little more satisfying. But either way a win's a win, it doesn't really matter who's out there with you.
"It's different (this time). Neither of the past wins did I have the lead. A US Open is very, very different. I was 3-under through two rounds and thrilled with that. At 14-under right now and it could have been better if I hit fairways, right? So it's not comparable."

Justin Thomas (-13, 131)

"I played well, I drove it well, something you've got to do out here on both courses. Drive it well and you've got a lot of wedges. Made some nice putts when I needed to.
"It's beautiful here. When it's like this, one of the prettiest, most spectacular places in the world. But man, when it's not, it's brutal, it's cold, windy, rainy, foggy. Pretty breathtaking now though."

Adam Schenk (-13, 131)

"My goals going into today were just, you know, 18 decisions. So I guess, those 18 holes I was just making the best decisions I could in whatever spots I put myself in From there on, made a couple birdies, lost track of how many I made in a row.
"I definitely have to drive it better to be able to have a chance to compete this weekend. I'm right there, doing a lot of things well. But, especially on that course, if you miss the fairway, the rough might be a little tall over there, you won't be able to advance it to the green a lot of the times so you'll have to find the short grass more."

Cameron Tringale (-12, 132)

"A solid day. No complaints. My game's right where I want it. I'm not going to work on anything, I'm just going to rest. I think the tools are there, it's just making sure they're ready to go tomorrow and taking it as it comes to me."

Social

Big bounce for Bryson
Putting the big cat into perspective!
Shot of the day
Known in Europe, getting better known in the States.

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