Vaughn Taylor grabs outright lead at Reno Tahoe Open in Nevada
American Vaughn Taylor has now surged to the top of the leaderboard at the Reno Tahoe Open after he shot a six-under, 66 on Friday, August 5, to edge past the rest of the field for an outright lead. The two-time-winner of the Reno Tahoe Open, leaned on his
vast experience of maneuvering the difficult Montreux Golf & Country Club, Reno, Nevada to stay on top of the $3-millon event on the PGA Tour.
“It's good to come back to a place you've played well,” said Taylor, 35, who grew up and still lives near Augusta, Ga. “I'm sure those other guys would say the same thing," he said. "A lot of good memories, a lot of good vibes, and you almost feel like you
kind of pick up where you left off.”
Interestingly, Taylor has won only twice on the PGA Tour and for some strange reason, both the victories have come at the Reno Tahoe Open. He started off his front nine in the morning pulling in two straight birdies on the opening holes and made the turn
to card a stunning eagle at par-five, 13th and another birdie to close the round with an aggregate of nine-under, 135. He is now clear of the rest of the field by one shot.
Will Mackenzie remained in contention throughout the day and carded a second round score of three-under, 69 to trail the leader by one shot. He is now the outright second with his aggregate of eight-under, 136. Mackenzie pulled in five birdies and dropped
two shots in the second round.
Steve Flesch and Hunter Haas are tied for the third spot with their scores of seven-under along with the first round leader Nick O’ Hearn who carded a disappointing second round of 72. Flesch is the 2007 winner of the event and also won the Turning Stone
the same year but has not won a single event since then.
“It's fun to just get back in contention,” said Flesch, “I've been playing so poorly for three years now. It was fun to actually see my name up there.”
75 players were able to make the cut in the $3-million event and will proceed in the last two rounds on the weekend.
Tags: