What Happened
Andrew Pope made the most of moving day, firing a 9-under 63 to take the 36-hole lead at the 76th Florida Open Championship. Pope took a two-shot lead over the field at 12-under 131 heading into Sunday’s final round at Bradenton Country Club.
Pope got off to a quick start at Lakewood National Golf Club, playing his first six holes at 6-under par. He began the day with an eagle on the par-5 first hole and then birdied four of his next five holes.
Keeping it rolling on the back side, Pope birdied the 12th and 14th, with his lone bogey of the day coming on the 15th. Pope rolled in back-to-back birdies to finish the day and post a second-round 63 and move 17 spots up the leaderboard into the top spot.
Cory Howard sits in second place, two shot back of Pope, at 10-under 133. The Jacksonville native carded a second-round 66 at Lakewood National with eight birdies on the day. Three players head into the final round in a tie for third at 9-under 134: JC Deacon (two-time Florida Open Champion), Pete Kellerman and Daniel Robinson.
What’s Next
The final round of the Florida Open Championship will begin Sunday with the 76th Florida Open champion being crowned at Bradenton Country Club.
Notable
- Pope’s second-round 63 is the low round of the championship through two rounds.
- After beginning the day in a tie for 66th, Matt Cahill fired a second-round 67 to jump 51 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 15th.
- Seventy players made the cut at 1-over 144, with fifty-one professionals and 19 amateurs made the cut.
- Michael Sakane, who is tied for sixth, fired a 6-under 65 at Bradenton Country Club, the low round of the championship at Bradenton through two rounds.
- Miles McConnell sits at the top of the Amateur leaderboard at 5-under 138.
- Two-time Florida Open champion, JC Deacon, will look to become just the third player to win three Florida Open titles in Sunday’s final round.
- Professionals will be comepting for a $100,000 purse during Sunday's final round.
Quotable
"Coming off of a full season on the Korn Ferry last year, I have not really played much competitively all year, I have just been raising my kids. Going to start drawing back on past experiences, events I have played good in. I know I am in the mix right now so go one shot at a time." – Pope on his mindset heading into the final round
“I feel really comfortable in this tournament. It is literally the only golf tournament I play in all year. I probably take it more seriously than I should. I love it, I think the FSGA does an amazing job, and this course is just perfect." – Deacon on being in contention heading into Sunday
“In golf anything can happen, you just got to stay focused and not get ahead of yourself.” – Howard on what he is looking at tomorrow in the final round
“It would mean a lot. Growing up here in the state of Florida and playing in all of the FSGA tournaments, it would mean a lot." – Kellerman on what it would mean to win the Florida Open
“I just need to take my opportunities when I got them, and just try to make par on the other holes. You got to be a little more conservative out at Bradenton.” – Baker on what he need to do in the final round
Round 2 Results | Final Round Pairings | Hole-By-Hole Scoring
