Scottie Scheffler leads at 18 under through 36 holes after long weather delay at the Byron Nelson

McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth share a strong desire to win their hometown event, the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

The top-ranked player has a great chance to do it first.

Playing with his good friend who is also a fellow Dallas resident and Texas alum, Scheffler padded his lead on Friday, shooting an 8-under 63 to reach 18 under through 36 holes as one of the early finishers in a weather-delayed second round.

About half the field didn't get to complete the round after a six-hour delay, the last of the players not teeing off until about 15 minutes before sunset at soggy TPC Craig Ranch in a Dallas suburb.

They all figure to be chasing Scheffler on the weekend, with Spieth probably too far back to be among the contenders.

Play was suspended for darkness with Scheffler leading Sam Stevens by six shots. Stevens shot 65 on Friday.

“This tournament definitely means a lot to me,” said Scheffler, who made his PGA Tour debut at the Byron Nelson in 2014 — four years after Spieth made himself an instant hometown favorite by contending on Sunday as a 16-year-old high school junior. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to play here and have a chance to win.”

TPC Craig Ranch, which yields low scores even without pillow-soft conditions, was no match for Scheffler. He opened with a 61 on Thursday, and his total of 124 beat the previous 36-hole best at the Nelson by two shots. The two-time Masters champion missed Justin Thomas' 36-hole PGA Tour record from 2017 by one stroke.

Spieth couldn't keep up, although he figures to be safely inside the cut line following a 67 that put him at 6 under.

Jhonattan Vegas, a Venezuelan who also played for the Longhorns, finished his 69 and was eight shots behind Scheffler after starting the day two back. Ricky Castillo was 10 under in the 18th fairway when play was suspended.

Scheffler, bogey-free through two rounds, started on the back nine and parred his first eight holes before an eagle at the par-5 18th just before play was suspended.

Lightning started the delay, and several hours of rain followed — for the second time in three days. When the players returned, water sprayed from most of the shots in the fairway.

None of it bothered Scheffler, who hit 12 of 14 fairways and had six birdies over his final nine holes.

“There were some fairways that were pretty wet, but other than that, I think the golf course held up pretty well,” Scheffler said.

Defending champion Taylor Pendrith shot 71 and was 4 under, possibly in danger of missing the cut.

The weather forecast had Scheffler believing a long delay was coming before his round even started. Once it came, he spent most of the time in the clubhouse, eating and chatting with players.

“The food is just sitting there,” Scheffler said. “So we enjoyed some food, sat there, kind of hung out with some of the guys and didn’t do too much.”

The delay didn't stop the momentum from the eagle that beat the weather. All six of his birdie putts were inside 15 feet.

“We’re on a golf course where you’ve got to make some birdies, and the conditions today were changing a good amount,” Scheffler said. “Obviously with the huge rain delay, that was a challenge as well. Getting back out and playing in some wind and some pretty wet fairways, but overall, it’s great to be playing at home.”

Stevens birdied four his last six holes, including two par 3s, and played the first two rounds without a bogey. The 28-year-old seeking his first PGA Tour victory was second at the Farmers Insurance Open in January.

“There’s so many birdies out here and there’s so much golf to be played, I need to keep my head down,” Stevens said. “And if I get in a situation where I’m in contention with nine holes to go, then I have some memories to draw on.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Jordan Spieth, left, and Scottie Scheffler, right, walk the sixth fairway together during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Jordan Spieth walks on the fairway of the 16th hole during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Scottie Scheffler stands on the 16th green during the first round of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson golf tournament in McKinney, Texas, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

BERLIN (AP) — The German government has sharply rejected accusations by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claiming that it has been sidelining patient autonomy, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The statements made by the US Secretary of Health are completely unfounded, factually incorrect, and must be rejected,” German Health Minister Nina Warken said in a statement late Saturday.

Kennedy said in a video post earlier on Saturday that he had sent the German minister a letter based on reports coming out of Germany that the government was “limiting people’s abilities to act on their own convictions when they face medical decisions.”

The American health secretary said that “I've learned that more than a thousand German physicians and thousands of their patients now face prosecution and punishment for issuing exemptions from wearing masks or getting COVID-19 vaccines during the pandemic."

Warken rejected Kennedy’s claims, saying that “during the coronavirus pandemic, there was never any obligation on the medical profession to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. Anyone who did not want to offer vaccinations for medical, ethical, or personal reasons was not liable to prosecution, nor did they have to fear sanctions.”

Kennedy did not give provide specific examples or say which reports he was referring to but added that “in my letter, I explained that Germany is targeting physicians who put their patients first and punishing citizens for making their own medical choices.”

He concluded that "the German government is now violating the sacred patient physician relationship, replacing it is a dangerous system that makes physicians enforcers of state policies.”

Kennedy said that in his letter he made clear that “Germany has the opportunity and the responsibility to correct this trajectory, to restore medical autonomy, to end politically motivated prosecutions.”

Warken pointed out that there were no professional bans or fines for not getting vaccinated.

“Criminal prosecution was only pursued in cases of fraud and document forgery, such as the issuance of false vaccination certificates or fake mask certificates," the minister said.

She also clarified that in general in Germany “patients are also free to decide which therapy they wish to undergo.”

Former German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who was in charge during the pandemic, also replied, addressing Kennedy directly on X saying that he “should take care of health problems in his own country. Short life expectancy, extreme costs, tens of thousands of drug deaths and murder victims."

“In Germany, doctors are not punished by the government for issuing false medical certificates. In our country, the courts are independent,” Lauterbach wrote.

While a majority of Germans were eager to get vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, there were also protests by a small minority of vaccine skeptics in Germany which were sometimes supported by far-right movements.

FILE - Robert Kennedy Jr., center, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Health and Human Services Department, walks between meetings with senators on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)