Endicott, NY – One of the biggest strategies for Dick’s open professional golfers is to aim for a total score of around 12 and above.
Steve Allan achieved that marker by the end of the second day. Though he wasn’t the career-highest marker of his first outing, Alan continued to maintain his only possession heading into the final round of the tournament with his second enjoy golf course.
Alan made four birdies, including 18 putts. He also recorded the tournament’s first bogey in 2017.
“It’s very rare to go to many holes without a bogey,” Alan said. “So I knew it was coming. I hope there aren’t too many tomorrow.”
But it was Booley’s 8-under performance that rocked the rest of the leaderboard. From the day tied up on the 20th, Weekly made eight birdies on his second trip on the course, pushing him to second place. He notched three straight birdies on holes 3-5 and had two birdies in a row on the back nine.
“Today I got a little closer and made a putt,” Weekly said. “I mean, that’s the only difference you know, that’s one of us here, who’s going to make the most putts. And today I made them.
Weekly arrived twice at the top of the leaderboard throughout the afternoon, nearly helping with a tied ranking with Alan until the Australian clutch was 18.
Jason Carron was consistent in third place throughout the second round, teeing off in the second group and finished with a 10-under par.
Caron never won the Open, and his performance at the Dick Open gave him one of the best opportunities he’d had since he joined the PGA Tour champion within two years. Caron said he felt very comfortable on the course and was able to make a consistent putt despite the speed of the green.
“I’m just trying to do what I’m doing, I mean trying to control what I can, not what everyone else is doing,” Caron said. “Playing the last group is always good because it puts you in the line. It’s probably a few opportunities that could come out and be ready. So you know, I’m going to do my best and see what happens.”
Alan, Weekly and Caron handled a 45-minute weather delay while playing the back nine, stopping momentum on the course. The delay led to the two having their first bogeys in the tournament, but they quickly found the groove again.
“To be honest, I knew I was probably going to make a bogey on my first bogey so I didn’t hit a great shot on the next hole,” Caron said. “
The final round tee will be off at 8:55am, with players starting with holes 1 and 10 to fight the weather. Alan, Weekly, Carrontee Off at 10:55am
Rochester native Jeff Sluman doubled his first day performance and combined another four-underpal round to remain in the top 10.
Doug Baron began his day in second place and finished one stroke with a par that led to a drop in the 18th place ranking. Jerry Kelly was also in the top three after the first round, dropping 28 locations to T31, finishing day two.
All three golfers sitting in the top three have not won a Champions event in their careers. Alan won his first victory a few weeks ago. Now Alan has the chance to become the first wire-to-wire champion in tournament history.
“It’s always good whenever you have a chance,” Alan said. “It doesn’t happen that often for me anyway.”
Leaderboard after Round 2 (Par 72)
Steve Alan 63, 69 (-12)
Boo Weekly 69 64 (-11)
Jason Caron 66 68 (-10)
Greg Chalmers 69 66 (-9)
Kevin Sutherland 69 66 (-9)
Paul Goydos 67 68 (-9)
Billy Mayfair 72 64 (-8)
Notah Begay III 70 66 (-8)
69 Harrison setting 67 (-8)
Jeff McGar 69 67 (-8)
Jeff Sluman 68 68 (-8)
Paul Stankowski 68 68 (-8)
Gene Sauer 68 68 (-8)
