Tyler McDaniel surges into lead at the 37th Junior PGA Championship
Manchester’s Tyler McDaniel recorded four birdies against a lone bogey en route to a one-stroke halfway lead over Smithtown’s Jim Liu after the second round of the 37th Junior PGA Championship on Wednesday.
The 16-year-old McDaniel took advantage of the wonderful scoring conditions by firing a three-under par 69 for a seven-under par overall score at the Sycamore Hills Golf Club.
"I just played solid from tee to green," McDaniel said. "I have my putter going so well so far. It's saved shots, it's given me scoring opportunities and that's what you need to win".
McDaniel recorded two birdies on each of the front and back nine and went four-under for the round through 17 holes. However, a bogey to end the round reduced his lead to one stroke.
Yet, he was satisfied with his performance and stated that he needs to be consistent in the final two rounds in order to remain in a commanding position till the end of the tournament.
He also pointed out an abstract from Davis Love III’s speech that he gave during the opening ceremony.
"Mr. Love said earlier this week that you have to take this game one shot at a time and you can't get ahead of yourself," McDaniel said. "I have been doing a great job of that this week. But I need to continue to do that and put myself in a position to score
over the final two days".
According to the golf commentators, McDaniel has been great with his putter right from the start of the tournament. His game off the tee, on the other hand, is not as good as it needs to be.
It seems as if his putter is helping him out in the field to post decent scores on the leaderboard. Despite the fact that he currently leads the field, he still needs to work a little extra with his driving technique.
J.B. Williams, who shot a course record 65 in the opening round, faltered on day two and went one-over for the event after posting an 80 on the leaderboard. His round included eight bogeys and a triple bogey against one birdie and one eagle.
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