What Happened
Connor Arendell made the most of moving day, firing a 9-under 63 to take the 36-hole lead at the 77th Florida Open Championship. Arendell took a four-shot lead over the field at 14-under 128 heading into Sunday’s final round at The Golf Club at Crown Colony.
Arendell, the 2021 Florida Open champion, got off to a quick start at Cypress Lake Golf Club, playing the front nine bogey free with four-straight birdies on Nos. 4-7. He birdied the first hole of the day and made the turn at 5 under.
Keeping it rolling on the back side, Arendell birdied the final four holes of the day to card a bogey-free 62 and set the Cypress Lake Course record.
Branden Collins sits in second place, four shot back of Arendell, at 10-under 132. The Saint Petersburg native carded a second-round 65 at Cypress Lake with a bogey-free round and six birdies on the day. Three players head into the final round in a tie for third at 8-under 134: Kevin Aylwin, Dillon Board, and John Houchin.
What’s Next
The final round of the Florida Open Championship will begin Sunday with the 77th Florida Open champion being crowned at Crown Colony.
Notable
- Arendell’s second-round 62 is the low round of the championship through two rounds.
- After beginning the day in a tie for 65th, Jay Halverson, the 2023 Mid-Amateur champion, fired a second-round 66 to jump 51 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 14th.
- Aylwin had an ace on the fourth hole at Cypress Lake Golf Club, moving in to a tie for third at 8-under 134.
- Sixty-nine players made the cut at 2-over 144, with forty-nine professionals and 20 amateurs made the cut.
- John Houchin sits at the top of the Amateur leaderboard at 8-under 134, posting two rounds of 67 for the first two rounds.
- Michael Berger was the biggest mover on Saturday, posting a second-round 67 to move 72 spots up the leaderboard.
- Professionals will be competing for a $125,000 purse during Sunday's final round.
Quotable
“I had so many looks on the back nine, I could have gone really low. Hit it really close the first four or five holes of the back then I just started missing them. After that, I birdied the last four coming in to finish strong.” – Arendell on his second-round 62
“I picked my tee up and walked off and the guys behind the green started acting like something happened. It was pretty sweet, but it was odd because I did not see it go in.” – Aylwin on his ace during the second round
Round 2 Results | Final Round Pairings | Hole-By-Hole Scoring
