WASHINGTON (AFP) — Fourth-ranked Xander Schauffele fired a four-under par 67 to seize a four-stroke lead after Friday’s second round of the PGA Tour’s Wells Fargo Championship.

Reigning Olympic champion Schauffele, last year’s Wells Fargo runner-up, closed with a bogey to finish on 11-under 131 after 36 holes at rain-soaked Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Just trying to plod around the property, knowing if you hit a drive somewhere near the fairway it’s going to plug and stay in it,” Schauffele said.

“Really kept each hole in front of me and it’s only Friday. Just happy to be in this position.”

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and Australia’s Jason Day shared second on 135 with South Korean Im Sung-jae and American Taylor Moore on 136.

Two-time major winner Collin Morikawa closed with a bogey to stand sixth on 137.

The PGA Tour signature event, with a reduced field and no cut, is the last major tuneup for next week’s PGA Championship at Valhalla, where Schauffele hopes to win his first major title.

Schauffele seeks his eighth career PGA Tour triumph this week. The 30-year-old American has not won since the 2022 Scottish Open.

“I’ve had a few knocks on the door here and I just keep telling myself to keep knocking,” Schauffele said.