Brian Gay of the US carded five straight birdies on the front nine and six in all to open up a one-shot lead after the second round of the Verizon Heritage in Hilton Head, South Carolina, on Friday.
Gay’s run came between the fourth and the ninth holes as he hit a five-under par 66 for the round and stood at nine-under for the tournament with Todd Hamilton a shot behind at the halfway stage.
Germany’s Alex Cejka, who had led by a shot overnight, followed his first round 64 with an even-par 71 to be tied at seven-under with Lee Janzen, whose 70 included a hole-in-one at the 17th.
PHOTO: AFP
“The front nine was awesome, I got hot with the putter and made five in a row there on the front and played real solid on the back,” Gay said.
Hamilton had three birdies on the front nine and finished his round with another at the ninth.
Two-time defending champion Boo Weekley endured a mixed bag of a round with three bogeys and a double-bogey before finishing with three birdies to be eight shots off the lead.
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