Jimmy Walker has the LIV Golf series to thank for his career resurrection after carding a second straight 65 to grab a three-shot lead midway through the PGA Tour's RBC Heritage.
Walker's score of 12-under 130 gave him some separation from Scottie Scheffler (65 Friday), Xander Schauffele (66) and England's Justin Rose (67), who were tied for second at 9-under 133 at Harbour Town Golf Links on Friday.
Walker was the surprise winner of the 2016 PGA Championship. It marked his sixth PGA Tour victory, but has not won on tour since.
The 44-year-old has battled Lyme disease since 2017 and stepped away from golf in April 2022, sitting out the rest of the season for health reasons.
He came back for the 2022-23 season on an exemption reserved for the top 50 all-time money winners, which was only made possible when the PGA Tour suspended players who joined LIV Golf, bumping Walker up several spots to No.50.
"I was 50, and if I didn't play, I'd never get it again. I just wouldn't," Walker said. "So when it happened, it was kind of like, wow, this is incredible.
"I immediately shifted gears and talked to my family and said, this is it. This is what we're going to do. They were totally all about it."
Walker has plummeted to No.406 in the Official World Golf Ranking and missed eight of his first 12 cuts of the season, but his recent form has had no bearing on his performance through these first two rounds.
He had four birdies and a bogey through his first nine holes Friday to get to 9 under. Then he broke away from the pack with three straight birdies at Nos. 13-15.
"I've always felt like playing this place was all about ball striking because if you're ball striking it well, if you hit the green, you're going to have a birdie putt, it seems like, because the greens are so tiny," Walker said.
Scheffler started his round on the back nine and had his shot of the day at the par-5 second, chipping in for eagle from 32 feet.
Patrick Cantlay made a hole-in-one en route to a 65, tying him for fifth at 8 under with Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (65), Aaron Rai (71) and Norway's Viktor Hovland (70).
Cantlay was finishing his round on the front nine and went straight for the pin at the 200-yard par-3 seventh.
"It was just a perfect 6-iron number, a little into the wind, high 190s to the hole," Cantlay said.
The best round of the day belonged to last week's Masters champion and world No.1 Jon Rahm. The star from Spain dramatically improved upon a 1-over 72 on Thursday by shooting a bogey-free, 7-under 64.
Cam Davis (67) and Adam Scott (68) are tied 23rd at five-under, seven behind Walker.
They are two ahead of compatriot Lucas Herbert (three under), who made the two-under cut with a fine 67.Â