SAN ANTONIO, Texas – News and notes from Friday’s second round of the Valero Texas Open, with Tony Finau and Bud Cauley sharing a one-shot lead entering the weekend at TPC San Antonio. Click here for the Daily Wrap-up.

BUD'S INSTRUCTOR/CADDIE HYBRID

Matt Killen is Bud Cauley’s swing instructor. This week – for the first (and perhaps only) time – he’s also his caddie.

The up-close-and-personal approach seems to be paying off, as Cauley’s bogey-free 66 left him at 8 under and in great shape to chase his first PGA TOUR win this weekend.

“Just doing this so I can watch him play under the gun,” said Killen, who also works with Justin Thomas, a former teammate of Cauley’s at the University of Alabama. “We just discussed it and decided it would be good for us to go out there together.”

Cauley arrived at TPC San Antonio fresh off a top-10 finish at last week’s RBC Heritage, but before then he had missed the cut in his previous two starts. He has not been in contention since a tie for third at the CareerBuilder Challenge in mid-January.

Six weeks ago, Cauley and Killen pinpointed Valero as the event to work together all week. “He thought it would be a good way to see me in action,” Cauley said.

Thursday night, Killen made an adjustment on Cauley’s putting practice routine, having Cauley practice strokes from the side instead of behind the ball. The change went into effect Friday.

It must have worked – Cauley needed just 22 putts after requiring 32 in the first round.

“Obviously it’s something I have to keep doing to get more comfortable with,” Cauley said. “I actually kind of forgot – a couple of times today I caught myself almost taking a practice stroke behind the ball and had to stop.”

KID-LESS AND CO-LEADING

Tony Finau is flying solo this week. His wife Alayna and their four children – ages 1 to 5 -- are back home in Utah.

That means the kids are missing out on the River Bluff Water Experience, one of the big draws for players bringing their families to TPC San Antonio. If you’ve watched the television coverage the first two rounds, no doubt you’ve seen the water slides.

“We went to L.A. last week, so we’ve already had our vacation,” Finau said. “Plus, they’re too young.”

Without his family, Finau must find other ways to enjoy life this week. On Friday, it was chasing the course record.

Fueled by an 103-yard eagle hole-out and eight birdies, Finau arrived at the par-5 18th hole needing one more birdie to tie the course record of 63. Alas, his tee shot found trouble in the native area, forcing him to lay up. He hit his third shot heavy and found the water, eventually suffering his third bogey of the round to finish with a 7-under 65.

Still, he’ll be in the final group Saturday with co-leader Bud Cauley and Cameron Smith, who's one shot back.

“It wasn’t the finish I wanted,” Finau said, “but all in all, right there going into the weekend. Pretty happy with that.”

