It’s the Joe Highsmith show once again. He fired a 7-under 65 in the second round at the PGA West Stadium Course to grab a three-shot lead and take a big step toward a three-peat.
He didn’t have the best round of the day, however. Roy Cootes caught fire and shot an 8-under 64 to move from a tie for 11th all the way up to second place. Besides Highsmith, Clay Feagler was the only other player that began the day among the leaders who had a good round, but he finds himself four shots back in third place.
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Leaderboard: 1. Joe Highsmith 134 (69-65); 2. Roy Cootes 137 (73-64); 3. Clay Feagler 138 (69-69); T4. William Mouw 140 (72-68); T4. Derek Hitchner 140; (71-69); T4. Joshua McCarthy 140 (69-71); T4. RJ Manke 140 (66-74); T8. Austin Murphy 141 (72-69); T8. Sahith Theegala 141 (68-73); 10. Frederick Wedel 142 (73-69); T11. Cody McManus 145 (73-72); T11. Andrew Putnam 145 (71-74); T13. Johnny Mac Arthur 147 (76-71); T13. Kevin DeHuff 147 (74-73); T13. Josh Anderson 147 (71-76); 16. Joey Vrzich 149 (76-73).
- Highsmith had an eventful day with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and seven birdies alongside two bogeys. He was 4-under on the front nine and 3-under on the back nine. The 7-under matched his best score of the season.
- Cootes’ day began with an eagle on the par-4 first hole, and he stayed hot all day. He had zero bogeys and added six birdies, including four in the final five holes. It was by far his best round of the season.
- Feagler had a run of four straight birdies on holes 7-10 to take a share of the lead, but a couple of bogeys on the back nine set him back.
- There were a remarkable six eagles during the round. In addition to Highsmith and Cootes, the others were by Vrzich, Mac Arthur, McManus and Hitchner.
- The par-72 course played easier in round two, as the average score dropped from 71.4 to 70.6.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 