A brilliant opening nine on Friday saw Garrick Higgo card a second round of seven-under-par 65 as he climbed into a share of 15th at the halfway mark of the PGA Tour’s World Wide Technology Championship at El Cardonal at Diamante in Los Cabos, Mexico.

Higgo made seven birdies after starting his round on the 10th, and he turned in 29. Things got a little quieter after the turn, and he made just one more birdie, on the second, and he dropped the only shot of his round on the fourth.

Matti Schmid rolled in a 30-foot eagle putt with about six feet of break during a six-hole stretch he played in six-under-par that carried the German to a nine-under 63 and a one-shot lead.

Nick Dunlap, who tied the course record of 61 in the opening round, was keeping pace and pulled one shot ahead of Schmid until a tee shot out of play on his 16th hole, the par-four seventh, that led to double bogey. He closed with two pars for a 67 and was one shot behind.

Sami Valimaki of Finland, who also shot a 61 in the first round, birdied three of his last five holes for a five-under 67 to join Dunlap a shot behind.

Only three tournaments, including this one on the southern tip of Baja California, remain this season. The top 100 in the FedExCup – down from 125 in previous years – retain full PGA Tour cards for next season.

Higgo was projected to climb to 57th as things stand, but Erik van Rooyen, who missed the cut after his second round of 74, was projected to go down to 83rd.