In the first 28 rounds of the tour, there wasn’t a single hole-in-one. In the 29th round — the penultimate round of the season — there were three! The second round at Augusta National had some fireworks, led by the aces by Clay Feagler, Joe Highsmith and Joey Vrzich.
Feagler has been near-flawless through two rounds and has built a substantial lead with a 10-under 134. Highsmith might be his only competition for the title, but he’s four shots back. William Mouw is a distant third and will start the final round seven shots behind.
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Leaderboard: 1. Clay Feagler 134 (68-66); 2. Joe Highsmith 138 (69-69); 3. William Mouw 141 (70-71); T4. Sahith Theegala 143 (72-71); T4. Johnny Mac Arthur 143 (70-73); 6. Joshua McCarthy 144 (75-69); T7. Joey Vrzich 145 (73-72); T7. RJ Manke 145 (72-73); 9. Andrew Putnam 146 (77-69); 10. Austin Murphy 149 (77-72); T11. Roy Cootes 150 (77-73); T11. Frederick Wedel 150 (74-76); T13. Derek Hitchner 153 (77-76); T13. Kevin DeHuff 153 (76-77); 15. Josh Anderson 156 (80-76); 16. Cody McManus 157 (76-81).
- Feagler’s ace came on the 12th hole. He also had four birdies and didn’t have a bogey en route to a 6-under 66, which was three shots better than anyone else. He was 1-under at the turn and played the back nine at 5-under to take back the lead. He’s looking to become the third Wave to win two tournaments.
- Highsmith got off to a great start. His ace on the fourth hole, combined with birdies on 2 and 5, put him into the lead, which he kept until just after the turn. He was one of three Waves with a 3-under 69.
- Vrizch also had a hole-in-one on 12.
- The aces were three of the seven eagles on the day. Cootes had a pair of them on par-5s, and Murphy and McCarthy had the other two.
- Round 2 played more than a stroke easier than round 1, as the scoring average dropped from 73.9 to 72.8. Still, only six players shot below par in round 2, and only five are below par for the tournament.
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 