Chris Kirk gains ground on Shriners Open leader Rod Pampling

It took Chris Kirk two days to do what Rod Pampling did in one, which was get to 11 under par at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

But even though that wouldn’t be enough to give him the lead, Kirk wasn’t complaining after he shot 6-under 65 Friday at TPC Summerlin. He began the second round six strokes behind Pampling and now trails him by three.

“The course is in fantastic condition. It’s the best I’ve ever seen it,” said Kirk, who shot 66 Thursday. “I felt good with my swing, and everything went smooth. I gave myself a lot of chances.”

Pampling, who fired an 11-under 60 to take the first-round lead, recovered from a slow start to his second round and shot 3-under 68. His two-round total of 14-under 128 leads Brooks Koepka by one stroke and Aaron Wise by two.

Kirk, 31, has been on the PGA Tour since 2011 and has four victories. He took four weeks off after the BMW Championship in September and has come out playing well in the desert.

“I feel pretty good about my swing, and I definitely rolled the ball nicely on the greens,” Kirk said. “My putting was inconsistent last year, and statistically it was probably my worst putting year that I’ve had since I’ve been on Tour. But I’ve worked on a few things, and when you make some putts, momentum gets on your side, and it just kind of flows a lot better out there.”

Kirk knew when he came to TPC Summerlin on Friday that he had work to do after Pampling’s sensational first round. He wasn’t looking to overtake Pampling, just get closer.

“You don’t think about the guy had an 11 under,” Kirk said. “You just try to play solid and make as many birdies as you can and be thankful it’s a four-round event, not one.”

Kirk led briefly after Pampling started his round from the 10th tee and made bogeys at No. 11 and 14 to drop to 9-under. But the 47-year-old Australian got back to 11 under at the turn, then added birdies at No. 2 and No. 3 to go to 13 under.

Another birdie at the par-4 No. 7 increased Pampling’s total to 14 under before he gave that shot back at the par-3 No. 8. He finished with birdie at the par-5 ninth to get back to 14 under.

“I didn’t panic,” Pampling said of his early struggles. “I just relaxed, and I let it come to me, which it thankfully did.”

Koepka was staying in close contact. He began the day two shots off the pace, and after a fast start with a birdie at the par-4 No. 1, he suffered bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 to drop to 8 under. But an eagle at the par-5 ninth got him to 10 under, and birdies at Nos. 12 and 13 helped him improve to 12 under.

Koepka tied Pampling after making eagle at the par-5 16th, but a bogey at No. 18 dropped him one shot back.

“I played OK, nothing special,” Koepka said. “I just need to clean up a few mistakes and I’ll be fine.”

Koepka played the three par-5s to 5 under after eagles at No. 9 and 16.

“I’ve got to eat up the par-5s,” he said. “I did a good job of that today. But unless you score well on them, you can’t win.”

Wise was 12 under through 14 holes when darkness forced play to be suspended. Like Koepka, he had eagles on two of the three par-5s (No. 13 and 16) to put him in contention. A bogey on his second hole, the par-4 11th, was his only mishap.

“I can’t worry about what anyone else is doing,” Pampling said. “I’m just going to do what I’ve been doing, which has been good enough so far.”

Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.