Stiles shares midway lead with Osborn at Tour Championship
McKINNEY, Texas – Darron Stiles was inches away from a double-eagle on the final hole at TPC Craig Ranch but the tap-in for eagle kept him in the lead at the Nationwide Tour Championship.Stiles (67) finished at 11-under 131 and is joined at the top by Garrett Osborn (65).
Colt Knost (66) is alone in third at 9-under 133 while Hunter Haas (66), Bryce Molder (67), Marc Leishman (67) and Jeff Klauk (69) are tied for fourth, a further stroke adrift at 8-under 134.
Casey Wittenberg (64), Matt Bettencourt (67) and Spencer Levin (69) finished at 7-under 135, tied for eighth.
Osborn, from Birmingham, AL, got away to a bad start with a bogey at the first hole then made four birdies before the turn. Three more birdies in the last four holes left him in good shape.
“It was one of those starts where you don’t want to make bogey but I holed a 15-footer to avoid the double which gave me good momentum and I felt like I stole a shot,” said Osborn, who has not led on the Nationwide Tour this year. “Today, I got some good breaks.”
One of those breaks was from a spectator at the eighth hole who stopped his ball from going deep into the rough left of the green.
“I felt so bad,” said Osborn. “She certainly deserves all the credit for that par, by the way. She was laughing about it when I got up there so it made me feel better,”
Stiles, a Pinehurst, NC resident, went out in 4-under but hit a poor tee shot at No. 10 which unsettled him even though he managed to save par. He continued to struggle with his driver on the back nine and paid the price when he drove under the lip of a fairway bunker on hole 16 and made bogey. Stiles saved the round with his spectacular eagle at the 18th, hitting a 5-wood from 244 yards that grazed the flagstick and finished on the edge of the cup.
“I guess I saved my two best swings of the day until the last hole,” joked Stiles. “Honestly, it could have been better but I’m pleased with the score for the day.”
Knost lipped out a 5-iron at the par-4, 11th hole then holed the resulting six-footer for his fourth birdie of the day. A final birdie at the 18th hole, when he two-putted from 18 feet, left him two strokes behind the leaders.
“I hit it really good today, about as good as I have all year,” said Knost, who hit 17 of 18 greens. “It could have been one of those rounds. I gave myself chances all day.”
Knost, who lives in nearby Dallas, has been in contention three times this year and has won twice, the Fort Smith Classic and the Price Cutter Charity Championship, events where Stiles has finished second and tied 15th respectively.
“I guess he’s haunting me,” said Knost, who would gain a three-win promotion and be fully exempt on the PGA Tour next year with a victory this week. “The last few days I have been a little nervous, honestly. I want to play well in front of everyone here and it means a lot to me to play well here.”
Wittenberg, from Memphis, TN, was over par early in his round after bogeys at holes four and five but six birdies and an eagle at the last, where he holed a 35-footer, vaulted him up the leaderboard. Wittenberg turns 24 at the end of this month and was paired with Kyle Reifers (64), who has Scotty Gneiser, David Toms’ caddie, on loan this week.
“I’m good friends with Scotty so it was a good group out there today,” said Wittenberg. “It was pretty relaxed to be honest and we all kind of played off each other a little bit.”
Haas, No. 26 on the money list, certainly improved his chances of making it back to the PGA Tour.
“I’m putting well and staying aggressive,” said Haas. “I’ve really got nothing to lose.”
Second Round News & Notes: Ewan Porter was disqualified for signing an incorrect scorecard and receives $3,050. Tee McCabe receives 60th place money of $3,000 even though he withdrew before Thursday’s opening round due to a wrist injury…Matt Every (70) scored an eagle at the par-4 10th hole…Bob May (68), who was a doubtful starter at the beginning of the week due to a back injury, shot his second consecutive sub-par round. May is 40th on the money list and players ranked 26-40 after the Nationwide Tour Championship are exempt into the final stage of Qualifying School…The scoring average for round two was 69.466...Colt Knost (66) and Kyle Reifers (64) registered the only bogey-free rounds.
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