What Happened
The afternoon wave from round 1 made a quick turnaround and was back out on the course at Miromar Lakes early on Tuesday for round 2 of the 47th Senior Open Championship. Garrett Willis improved his round 1 score by one shot to finish his second round at 4-under par, 68. Willis' round was highlighted by an eagle on the par 5, 8th hole. As the morning wave finished their second rounds, Willis would be tied at the top of the leaderboard with round 1 leader Skip Kendall at 7-under par.
David Hronek would start his second round one shot back of the leaders at 6-under par. After an early bogey on the first hole, the Port Charlotte native would rattle off nine consecutive pars from holes two to ten. With the par 4, 11th hole playing driveable in round 2, Hronek would hole out from off the green for an eagle, jumping him into a tie for the lead at 7-under par. He would give that back right away on the next hole after an untimely double-bogey on the the 12th. Hronek would ultimately finish his second round at even par and sit one shot back of the lead at 6-under par for the tournament.
Skip Kendall would end the day where he started, in first place, and Garrett Willis would jump four spots on the leaderboard to join him at the top with 18-holes to play for the Championship.
What’s Next
The final round of the 47th Florida Senior Open Championship will begin Wednesday at 7:45 a.m., where professionals and amateurs will be competing for a $65,000 purse during the final round.
Notable
- 61 players made the cut at 7-over par 151, with 41 professionals and 20 amateurs making the cut
- Guy Boros charged up the leaderboard in round 2, carding a 5-under par 67 to move 57 spots up the leaderboard into a T14 position at even par
- Only four players have posted two under-par rounds through 36 holes: Willis, Schuster, Williams, Mielke
- All four past champions in the field made the cut: San Filippo, Herrera, Tucker, Sykora
- Seven players sit within five shots of the lead heading in Wednesday's final round
- Bob Mathers sits atop the amateur leaderboard at 1-under par and in a tie for 10th place
Quotable
"To win. There's no other thing other than winning. To do that, I have to come out here with a clear head, have a good game plan and just stick to it. If I'm going to be away from my family, my only goal here is to win." - Garrett Willis on what his mindset will be for the final round
"I have to make a bunch of birdies again tomorrow to have a chance - so just hit it on the right side of the hole, have some birdie putts and see what happens." - Mark Mielke on his outlook on the final round sitting three shots back of the lead
"I played solid all day today, made some birdies on the back side and then made an eagle on the 8th hole which just turned the round into a nice round. Yesterday I was playing well, had a bad break against a tree and then had a string of bogies." - Roger Rowland on his 9-shot improvement with a second round 5-under par, 67.
