Andrew Novak followed up his opening 9-under 61 on the Seaside Course with a 7-under 65 featuring two bogeys on the Plantation Course to take the 36-hole solo lead at 16-under at the RSM Classic.
“I thought I drove it well again today, gave myself a lot of opportunities with some shorter irons in and wedges in and really took advantage. There was a lot of close wedge shots where they weren’t necessarily gimmees but very, very good opportunities with the putter and kind of got in a rhythm with that and maximized some opportunities in the middle of the round,” said Novak.
“I’ve always had like pretty good success at Plantation in this tournament. I’ve maybe not been as good on Seaside, so I really want to take advantage of a good Seaside round and back it up with a good Plantation round. I feel like today was mostly good. The finish was not good enough really, but yeah, it was what I was looking for.”
At 16-under 126, Novak recorded the lowest opening 36-hole score of his career on the PGA Tour in an individual stroke play event (130/2024 WM Phoenix Open/finished T8) and he broke the 36-hole scoring record at The RSM Classic (128, six times entering the week, most recently by Robert Streb in 2020).
Novak is playing in his 113th career start on Tour in his fourth-year as a member and is in the midst of his best season, highlighted by a win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (with teammate Ben Griffin).
Michael Thorbjornsen, in his 45th Tour start, fired a bogey-free, 7-under 63 on the Seaside Course and lies in T2. He logged a 36-hole career-low at 15-under 127 (previous low: 131/2024 John Deere Classic/finished T2).
Patrick Rodgers made one bogey and recorded a 10-under 62 on the Plantation Course for a share of second place.
Finland’s Sami Välimäki, the only non-American in the top-5, made one bogey for a 62 on the Seaside Course and a share of fourth place . He matched his career-low 36-hole score at 14-under 128 (2025 World Wide Technology Championship).
Greyson Sigg is tied in fourth place having closed with six consecutive birdies and an eagle at the par-5 18th as well as three earlier birdies and one bogey for a 62 on the Plantation Course.
FedExCup Fall Notes
The 2025 RSM Classic is the final event of the FedExCup Fall, a group of seven tournaments played after the Tour Championship that finalizes eligibility for the 2026 PGA Tour Season
Winners of events during the FedExCup Fall receive the similar benefits of winners of Full-Field Events during the Regular Season, including 500 FedExCup points, Official World Golf Ranking points, a two-year PGA Tour exemption (exempt thru 2026) and invitations to The Sentry, the Players Championship and PGA Championship.
The Aon Next 10 is an eligibility pathway that awards access into Signature Events, recognizing the top 10 players, not otherwise exempt, from the FedExCup standings; Nos. 51-60 in the final FedExCup Fall standings at the conclusion of The RSM Classic will serve as the Aon Next 10 for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and The Genesis Invitational