SAN ANTONIO — Tony Finau arrived at the 18th tee with a chance at a course record, but his approach splashed into the water and his bogey dropped him into a second-round tie for the lead with Bud Cauley at the Valero Texas Open on Friday.

A birdie at the par-5 final hole would have given Finau a share of the course record, but he settled for a 7-under 65 and is tied with Cauley at 8 under through 36 holes at TPC San Antonio.

Ian Poulter, Europe’s Ryder Cup star, missed the cut and lost his fully exempt status on the PGA Tour. He fell about $30,000 short of the required earnings to keep his status through a medical exemption because of a foot injury last year.

Cauley, a former NCAA standout at Alabama who’s yet to win through six seasons as a pro, shot a 66 in the morning.

Cauley and Finau, the winner last year at the Puerto Rico Open, were one shot ahead of Cameron Smith, Kevin Chappell, Robby Shelton and 1994 Texas Open winner Bob Estes.

Smith shared the low round with Finau at 65, Chappell shot 68, and Shelton and the 51-year-old Estes had 69s.

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John Huh was 6 under after a 71 and was tied with Kevin Tway (68) and Jonathan Randolph (70).

Finau holed a wedge from 105 yards for eagle on No. 11. A 22-foot birdie putt at 16 and a tap-in birdie on the next hole had him looking at tying the course record.

After his approach landed in shallow water in the creek fronting the 18th green, Finau played it out and chipped it past the green, rather than take the penalty drop.

“I did the same thing yesterday after going for the green (in two),” Finau said. “About half of the ball was out of the water. I got up-and-down yesterday. I know lightning doesn’t always strike twice.”

After a par at the first, Cauley’s early birdie streak included a 38-foot putt at 2. He avoided bogey all day, including sinking a 12-footer for par at No. 17 after a poor birdie attempt.

EUROPEAN TOUR: Bernd Wiesberger of Austria fired a bogey-free 7-under 65 to lead by four shots when the second round of the Shenzhen International in China was suspended because of storms.

Wiesberger completed his first round in the morning after lightning also halted play Thursday. He birdied the par-5 17th to get within one of the lead, then added seven birdies in Round 2 to get to 12 under overall.

Dylan Frittelli of South Africa and Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark carded matching rounds of 68-68 and were tied for second at 8 under.


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