WINNINGS UPDATE: 2,984 DraftKings Sportsbook bettors who selected Min Woo Lee or Rico Hoey have received $198 in Bonus Bets each! Congrats to the King of the Course winners!
King of the Course is BACK!
$500,000 in bonus bets will be split and distributed to users who opted in and placed an outright winner bet on the player records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of THE PLAYERS Championship.
Round 1 was a low-scoring affair that included a weather delay. It ended with Sepp Straka and Sahith Theegala on top of the actual leaderboard at 6-under par. However, it was Tony Finau leading King of the Course, after a wild round that saw him card eight birdies and five bogeys.
Who will end Friday as DraftKings’ King of the Course? Follow along below!
King of the Course Leaders after Round 2
King of the Course Live Updates
Rico Hoey Closes to Within One But Still Close to the Cut (4:48 p.m. ET)
Hoey has seven birdies in his second round, but he’s only at T66, sitting right near the cut line. He’s also made two bogeys and a double bogey. In Round 1, he had a quad-bogey and a double-bogey in addition to four bogeys and five birdies.
He’s up to 12 Birdies or Better for the tournament with four more holes to play and needs just one birdie to catch Min Woo Lee, who is leading the King of the Course standings at 13 Birdies or Better.
Where Eagles Double Dare (4:12 p.m. ET)
While they only count as one Birdie or Better, there are now two players who have multiple eagles on the week. Max Homa had his second eagle in as many rounds earlier on Friday and is up to T13.
Ludvig Aberg had both of his two eagles on the front nine of Round 2 to go out in 29 and tie Xander Schauffele for the lead in the tournament. He only has eight birdies or better for the week, though, so Min Woo Lee still holds the King of the Course lead at 13 Birdies or Better.
Aberg’s Fast Start (3:20 p.m. ET)
Ludvig Aberg had only three birdies in Round 1 but no bogeys, leaving him a very long way to go to catch Min Woo Lee’s total of 13 Birdies or Better.
Aberg looks like he’s going to make up for lost time, though, with three birdies and an eagle on the first four holes. He made two pars after that and is at seven Birdies or Better with 12 holes to play.
Min Woo Lee Takes the top spot (2:20 p.m. ET)
While the later groups are still just teeing off, many of the groups are done with Round 2. As groups are finishing, Min Woo Lee has set the pace with 13 Birdies or Better.
Min Woo Lee matched those 13 birdies with 13 pars and also posted nine bogeys and a double-bogey to finish -2, which has him at T29 for now.
Xander Schauffele has the overall lead for the tournament with 12 Birdies or Better, while Conners wrapped up with 12 Birdies or Better as well.
It’ll be interesting to see what players in the late wave can make a run at Lee’s 13. Tony Finau, who held the overnight lead, birdied his second hole and is at nine birdies with plenty of holes to make a charge.
Corey Conners back on top in style (11:50 a.m. ET)
Corey Conners added another Birdie or Better to tie Chad Ramey for the top spot in the King of the Course leaderboard, and he did it in style with this hole-out eagle.
Ramey and Conners each have 10 Birdies or Better, with Xander Schauffele alone in third behind them with nine Birdies or Better.
The hole-out eagle from Conners also gives him the solo lead for the tournament.
Chad Ramey Passes Corey Conners (11:30 a.m. ET)
Ramey is only T16 for the tournament, but he just made his fourth and fifth birdie of the day to catch and pass Conners for the lead in the King of the Course race.
The 33-year-old birdied holes No. 11 and No. 12, giving him four birdies today and 10 for the tournament. He would be much higher on the leaderboard if he hadn’t posted two bogeys and two double-bogeys in his last six holes on Thursday. He’s heading into the difficult stretch now as he looks to lock up his place for the weekend.
Conners remains alone in second place on the King of the Course leaderboard, although he’s alone in first for the tournament. There’s a host of players stacking up with eight Birdies or Better, and we’ll see if any of them can make a run at Ramey at the top.
Corey Conners Pulls Ahead with Ninth Birdie (11:05 a.m. ET)
Conners made a disappointing par on hole No. 5, but he jumped right back on board the birdie train with a birdie on the par-4 No. 6. He has five birdies in his first six holes in Round 2 and is up to nine total Birdies or Better for the tournament.
He stands alone atop the King of the Course standings for now, with 12 holes remaining in his round and a large chase pack forming behind him. The group of players with eight Bridies or Better has expanded to eight players as Xander Schauffele, Keith Mitchell, and Denny McCarthy each just made their eighth birdie of the tournament.
Austin Smotherman Joins the Party (10:50 a.m. ET)
Although he couldn’t convert his birdie putt below on Friday morning to secure the solo lead at the end of Round 1, Smotherman converted his eighth birdie of the tournament on his fifth hole of Round 2.
Smotherman has eight Birdies or Better for the week, joining Corey Conners, Lee Hodges, Alex Smalley, Tony Finau, and Chad Ramey in a six-way tie for the lead on the King of the Course leaderboard.
On the leaderboard for the tournament, Sepp Straka has a one stroke lead over Conners with Smalley and Smotherman two strokes back and tied for third.
Corey Conners Crushing it (10:20 a.m. ET)
Starting the day at -3 after four birdies and a bogey in Round 1, the 34-year-old Canadian Corey Conners starting with four straight birdies to move to the top of the leaderboard at -7 tied with Sepp Straka.
Conners’ eight total Birdies or Better over the last two days ties him with Lee Hodges, Alex Smalley, Tony Finau, and Chad Ramey for the most Birdies or Better, which means right now we have a five-way tie at the top of the King of the Course standings.
Smalley Starting Large! (10:00 a.m. ET)
Alex Smalley wasted little time catapulting himself up the leaderboard and up the King of the Course leaderboard as well. He knocked in four birdies in his first five holes to start the day! He had four birdies in Round 1 as well, but his most relatable shot came on the iconic island green (of course).
Smalley is up to eight Birdies or Better for his first two rounds. Meanwhile, in the actual tournament, Sepp Straka has taken the lead after two birdies in his first four holes in Round 2. He has six Birdies or Better for the week but hasn’t made a bogey yet.
How to Play King of the Course
- Opt in to receive your King of the Course token in the Promotions page
- Make an outright winner bet on DraftKings Sportsbook and apply your token (minimum $5 bet)
- If the golfer you wagered on with your token applied records the most birdies or better through the first two rounds of the tournament, win a share of $500,000 in bonus bets
For more information on this promo, click here!
