What Happened
A second-round 68 moved Brendan Valdes to the top of the leaderboard heading into the weekend at the 105th Amateur Championship. The Orlando native finished his day at Lost Tree Club with six birdies on Friday to take the 36-hole lead at 4-under 140.
The incoming sophomore at Auburn University got off to a hot start in the second round, birdieing three of his first five holes. Valdes made the turn at 3 under for the day and kept it rolling on the back side. The Florida Junior Tour alum added three more birdies on the back nine, including one on the final hole of the day.
Valdes took a one-shot lead over the field with a 4-under 68, tied for the second lowest round of the championship.
Reid Bedell and Run Youprayong finished the day in a tie for second place at 3-under 141. Bedell fired a 4-under 68 in the second round at Lost Tree, while Youprayong posted a 1-over 73.
What’s Next
The third round of the Amateur Championship will begin Saturday at 8:00 AM. All players will be at The Bear's Club for the final 36 holes of the Championship.
Notable
Seventy-one players made the cut at 7-over 151.
Jeff Dennis, the 2006 Amateur champion, carded a 3-under 69 to sit in an tie for fourth heading into the weekend.
Each of the par 72 golf courses played over par for the day. The Bear’s Club played to a 78.41 average score, while Lost Tree Club played to a 75.73 average score.
Tyler Stachkunas (tied for seventh) carded a bogey-free front side at The Bear’s Club with five birdies. After two double bogeys to start the back side, he rattled off three birdies on Nos. 12-14 and an eagle on the 18th hole.
After each opened with 8-over 80, Ryan Nicoll and Will Davis each fired 3-under 69 in the second round. Nicoll and Davis were the biggest movers on the day, rising up the leaderboard 69 spots and within the cut line for the weekend.
Quotable
“I’m just going to keep doing the same thing I’ve been doing for the first two days. I am really not going to do anything crazy – just keep playing the same type of golf. If I do that, hopefully I will stay in the lead the whole way through.” – Brendan Valdes on heading into the weekend with the lead
“I came into the day knowing I had to post a good score. I’ve been playing The Bear’s Club since I was eight or nine years old, so I knew I had the ability to post a good round. I just came out here and did what I know how to do out here.” – Tyler Stachkunas on his second-round 68
“I don’t play much competitive golf anymore, so I’m just going to go out there and enjoy being in the hunt. Hopefully it all shakes out and I can come out on top.” – Jeff Dennis, past Amateur champion, on going into the weekend
“The Bear’s Club will be a challenging course for these next couple rounds. I just need to miss in the right spots and give myself a lot of birdie putts and makeable par putts. If I can do that and keep it in play, the rest will take care of itself.” – Alex Vogelsong on the final two rounds at The Bear’s Club
