Overview
- Novak followed an opening 61 with a 65 to reach 16-under, taking a one-shot lead into the weekend over Michael Thorbjornsen and Patrick Rodgers.
- Calm, receptive courses pushed the cut to 7-under; Beau Hossler, 103rd in the standings, saved par late to make it on the number and keep his card hopes alive.
- Joel Dahmen missed the cut and will lose full status under the PGA Tour’s new top-100 threshold, with Brian Harman, Sahith Theegala and Takumi Kanaya also exiting early.
- Thursday’s low scoring featured Doug Ghim’s 10-under 60 to tie the Seaside course record, highlighting the birdie-friendly setup across both layouts.
- The field now plays the weekend exclusively on Seaside with a $7 million purse ($1.26 million to the winner) and final placements affecting 2026 cards and Aon Next 10 access.