Xander Schauffele was in paradise as his name went atop the leaderboard at the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii. Schauffele managed to go bogey-free for a second straight day with a 5-under 68 on Friday to hold a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Joaquin Niemann. The American is trying to become the first repeat champion of the winners-only event in 10 years. On this day, he was trying to keep it together. Schauffele finished with a birdie, a two-putt par from just under 100 feet and a 7-foot birdie on the final hole. That gave him the lead at 9-under 137, the highest 36-hole score to lead at Kapalua since 2008. Reed made three straight birdies around the turn, lost two good scoring chances late, made up for that with a 30-foot birdie on the 17th and wound up with a 66 for the best score of the day. Niemann didn't make a birdie until the ninth hole and limited the damage enough for a 72. Rickie Fowler (71) was two shots behind. Schauffele won last year with a 62 in the final round, a score that now seems out of reach on a Plantation course with entirely new grass on fairways that remain soft because of rain. The greens have shelves that weren't there a year ago. And the weather was never this rough when he won. Justin Thomas was poised to join Schauffele until he missed the green at the 17th to the right and made bogey, and made another bogey on the 18th when his drive went left into the waist-high native grass. He was three strokes back after a 73. — Agencies
