Andrew Novak seized the lead at the halfway point of the RSM Classic thanks to a second-round 65 on Friday in St. Simons Island, Ga.
At the finale of the PGA Tour's FedEx Cup Fall series, Novak (16-under 126) owns a one-stroke lead over a chasing pack trying to secure full status for 2026 or qualify for signature events.
Novak himself doesn't have to worry about those incentives, having finished inside the top 50 in this summer's FedEx Cup playoffs. A resident of St. Simons Island, he's playing freely with his mind on his family.
"That's such an advantage this week," Novak said. "I had a baby two weeks ago, I'm just here getting out of the house and happy to be here and other guys are fighting for their job. That is a huge advantage for me this week. I've got a little bit less riding on it. I definitely want to win. It's a local tournament so there is extra motivation for me to play well here for that. But some guys have their entire years riding on this week."
The field played one round at Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course and one round at the Plantation Course over the first two days. Novak's 9-under 61 at Seaside on Thursday was overshadowed by Doug Ghim's round, where he came close to sealing a 59 on the final hole before signing for a 60.
Novak picked up where he left off Friday, starting his day on the back nine and making six birdies between Nos. 15 and 2 to grab the lead. A bogey-birdie-bogey finish limited him to a one-shot edge.
"I made a nice one on 16, maybe 25 feet up the ridge there," Novak said. "Nothing too crazy, it's a pretty straight putt. Yeah, that had a little length to it. Everything else was pretty short."
Patrick Rodgers (62, Plantation) and Michael Thorbjornsen (63, Seaside) are on Novak's tail at 15 under par. Sami Valimaki of Finland and Greyson Sigg each shot 62s -- Valimaki at Seaside, Sigg at Plantation -- to forge a tie at 14 under. Johnny Keefer (64, Plantation) is alone in sixth at 13 under.
Rodgers racked up 11 birdies with a single bogey Friday. At No. 63 entering the week, a high finish will certainly shoot him into the top 60 of the points standings and qualify him for the first two signature events of 2026.
"I felt confident because the Plantation golf course played a little easier than Seaside did (Thursday), so I felt like there was a good round out there," Rodgers said. "That said, it's kind of hard to shoot a really low round if that's your intention the whole way through. So I just tried to put one good shot after another."
Meanwhile, Ghim had a more difficult time Friday and made a double bogey and a bogey over his closing three holes on his way to a 71 at the Plantation Course. He is five back at 11 under.
Part of a large tie at 11 under is Sweden's Jesper Svensson, an example of a player who could be a few good rounds away from securing his tour card. He entered the week No. 111 in the standings and is currently projected at No. 104, just outside the top 100 guaranteed to keep their cards.
Svensson fired a 64 with an eagle at the par-5 eighth to put himself in position.
"Yeah, it's going to keep being very good conditions, very scorable, so I think it's very important to just keep the pedal down over the weekend," Svensson said.
Brian Harman, Sahith Theegala and Colombia's Camilo Villegas were among those to miss the 7-under cut line by one stroke.
--Field Level Media
