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Schauffele shot a five-under-par 66 for his
second round to reach 11 under, tied with overnight leader
Hideki Matsuyama of Japan and Britain's Tommy Fleetwood who
revived memories of his past success at Le Golf National near
Paris.
In-form Schauffele won last month's British Open to claim his
second major title this year.
"If you do hit a bad shot it's easier to accept it because you
know you're playing really good golf and you can make it up
somewhere else," he told reporters.
Finding the rough along the 13th fairway, he discovered his ball
was lying on an anthill and sought advice from tournament
officials before hacking out on the way to a bogey.
"I've had burrowing animal issues but not like an antpile that
you can't really move," he said.
The 60 contenders will all play four rounds in a stroke play
format at the venue that hosted the 2018 Ryder Cup.
Matsuyama suffered his first dropped shots of the competition
after an unblemished opening round. That included a double bogey
on the last hole after finding water, depriving him of an
outright clubhouse lead.
Asia's top-ranked remained in contention, however, after
narrowly missing out on bronze on home soil three years ago.
Playing alongside Hideki, Fleetwood also dropped a shot on the
18th but posted a seven under round that included an eagle on
the third hole.
Spain's Jon Rahm, like Matsuyama a former Masters winner, was
fourth on the leaderboard at nine under.
Thomas Detry posted the best score of the second round, matching
Matsuyama's opening day eight under 63 to put the Belgian in
joint fifth place.
Further back, world number one Scottie Scheffler, who this year
claimed his second Masters Green Jacket, was joint-10th at six
under while playing partner Rory McIlroy of Ireland was another
stroke back.
France had a mixed day, with the country's top-ranked player
Matthieu Pavon slipping to four over, while Victor Perez stayed
within touch of the leaders at five under.
(Reporting by Gus Trompiz,Editing by Toby Davis and Ed Osmond) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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