Key takeaways from Round 2 at the 2024 Cognizant Classic

The 2024 Cognizant Classic commenced with its inaugural round on February 29 at PGA National's Champions Golf Course. The regular PGA Tour event features a stellar 144-player field competing in a stroke play four-day tournament to win the winner's share from an overall purse of $9 million.

The tournament had its second round on Friday, March 1, which was suspended midway. Some of the golfers have completed the round while the remaining will tee off on Saturday, March 2 at 7 a.m. ET to complete the round before heading for the third round.

The tournament has a 36-hole cutline, which is projected to be under par 2 and only the players finishing above that will compete in the last two rounds.

Here are the five key takeaways from the second round of the 2024 Cognizant Classic.

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Key takeaways from Round 2 at the 2024 Cognizant Classic

#1 Bud Cauley moves to the top of the leaderboard

Bud Cauley (Image via Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

Bud Cauley topped the leaderboard of the 2024 Cognizant Classic following Friday's round, though some golfers are yet to finish their rounds. Cauley took a one-stroke lead in the game after playing a round of 65. He played a bogey-free round on Friday with six birdies.

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#2 Jake Knapp maintains his dominance

Jake Knapp (Image via Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

Jake Knapp, who won his maiden PGA Tour event last week at the Mexico Open at Vidanta, continued his dominance at the Cognizant Classic. He shot 66 on Friday and jumped 24 positions on the leaderboard to settle in a tie for 24th place.

Knapp shot five birdies in the second round to score 5-under 66 and finished just three strokes behind Bud Cauley.

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#3 Rory McIlroy surges 10 spots on the leaderboard

Rory McIlroy (Image via Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy, the top-ranked golfer playing this week, has looked impressive at the 2024 Cognizant Classic. He shot two rounds of 67 to settle in a tie for sixth place.

McIlroy made six birdies and two bogeys on Friday to score 4-under 67 and jumped 10 positions on the leaderboard.

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#4 Max Greyserman stuns fans with his performance

Max Greyserman (Image via Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images)

Max Greyserman was phenomenal in the second round of the Cognizant Classic 2024 on Friday. He jumped 54 positions on the leaderboard after playing 18 holes on Friday.

Greyserman shot seven birdies and two bogeys in the second round to score 5-under 66 and finished the round in a tie for 17th place.

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#5 Matt Fitzpatrick makes an impressive comeback

Matt Fitzpatrick (Image via Brennan Asplen/Getty Images)

Matt Fitzpatrick shot 67 in the second round and jumped 47 positions on the leaderboard to settle in a tie for 24th place. He struggled with his game in the first round when he shot 70, but made a comeback in the second round.

Fitzpatrick started the second round with three back-to-back birdies on the first three holes followed by another birdie on the 18th hole. He shot six birdies and a double bogey on Friday.