PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Faber Jamerson of Amherst, Va., recorded a 68 for the second consecutive day on Friday and stands alone atop the leader board at 8-under-par 136 midway through the $100,000 TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship. Rain misted throughout the morning at the PGA Golf Club, while the wind continued to increase throughout the day, causing the course to play more difficult than the first round.
Jamerson started the day in a tie for fourth place, but relied on his experience of playing several rounds throughout his golf career on the Ryder Course while on the Golden Bear Tour to record a bogey-free second round highlighted with five birdies.
"I played a pretty solid round and took advantage of holes where I have the opportunities to make birdies, such as the par 5s," said Jamerson, who tied for 22nd place in the 2005 Championship. "The recent renovations to the Ryder Course have made the greens 100 percent better and the bunkers are phenomenal now."
First-round leader Ryan Benzel (71) of Kirkland, Wash.; Grant Masson (69) of Little Rock, Ark.; and Tim Raleigh (69) of Cleveland, Ohio, with matching 36-hole totals of 7-under-par 137s, stand in a tie for second place.
"The weather conditions early in the round definitely affected my round and this was a completely different course than yesterday," said Benzel, who began his round today one stroke ahead of the field but recorded bogeys on Nos. 6 and 12 for the second consecutive day. "On No. 6, I landed short of the green and my chip went about six feet past the hole. Then, on No. 12, I landed short of the green again but this time in a bunker, which resulted in another bogey."
Raleigh began the day in a tie for fourth place and recorded just one birdie on the front nine. After making the turn, he came alive and carded birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 13, and 17.
"I did not hit the ball very well today and the par 3s killed me. Therefore, I just focused on getting it up and down," said Raleigh, who was 2-over on the par 3s during his second round. "The highlight of my round was on No. 17, when I chipped in from 10 yards behind the green for a birdie."
Masson played an up-and-down round and recorded birdies on Nos. 4, 5, and 6 to make the turn at 3-under. The back nine presented some difficulties with a bogey on No. 15, followed by a double-bogey on the par-3 214-yard No. 16. Masson was able to bounce back though with two consecutive birdies to close out his round.
Locals Jim Herman (71) of Port St. Lucie and Alan Zimmerman (67) of North Palm Beach, Fla., stand two strokes off the pace at 6-under 138 in a tie for fifth place.
"I wanted to capitalize on the par 5s again today, but was unable to including No. 4 after hitting it in the bunker, which caused me to lay up and make a par," said Herman, who was 3-under on the par 5s in his first round, compared to being 1-under on the par 5s Friday. He started on the back nine of the Ryder Course and had an up-and-down round with four birdies and three bogeys.
"I am very pleased to get a birdie on No. 9," he added, "because it is very important to get a birdie on the final hole after the roller-coaster round, which gives me confidence going into the weekend."
A total of 79 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 3-over-par 147.
The 30th TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Assistant Professional Championship is comprised of 41 PGA Section assistant champions, section qualifiers, the defending Champion and assistant/apprentice champions from Australia, Canada and Great Britain. TaylorMade-adidas Golf returns as the title sponsor for the seventh consecutive year and is joined by Bank of America, Buick and MasterCard who serve as the supporting sponsors.
The winner of the TaylorMade-adidas PGA Assistant Professional Championship will collect $9,000 of the $100,000 purse and if eligible, will earn a berth in the 2007 PGA Professional National Championship at Sunriver (Ore.) Resort, June 21-24. Furthermore, the low apprentice will be invited to participate in the 2007 Australian PGA National Futures Championship.
Celebrating its 90th anniversary, The PGA of America was founded in 1916, and is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the game of golf while continuing to enhance the standards of the profession. The Association is comprised of more than 28,000 men and women PGA Professionals who are dedicated to growing participation in the game of golf.
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