Mulroy and Bjornstad two clear of field at South Georgia Classic
VALDOSTA, Ga. – Garth Mulroy and Henrik Bjornstad lead after Round 2 of the South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Company. At 9 under par, they have a two stroke advantage over five players tied for third at 7 under.Mulroy started on the tenth hole in the morning wave, rattling off five birdies in his first seven holes.
“Even though it’s slightly longer, the back is the easier of the two nines,” he said. “I felt good after capitalizing on those opportunities at the start of the round.”
Through two rounds of play Mulroy has not missed a fairway or green on holes 10 through 18. He as nine birdies and nine pars on the 18 holes he has played on the back so far.
Opposite Mulroy, Bjornstad started in the afternoon on the first tee. He proceeded to set a new course record for the front none at Kinderlou with a 30 that included six birdies and three pars. In the clubhouse with an 8-under 64, Bjornstad is happy to be this position.
“I’ve been struggling lately, so it’s nice to finally put some good scores together,” he said. “I started the day just trying to play a solid round and it turned out to be a great one. It was just one of those days where things went my way – I got all the right breaks.”
Bjornstad started the year strong with two T4 finishes in his first three starts. He has tapered since, missing the cut twice in the last three Tournaments and finishing T64 in Athens. He is still one of the year’s best performers at 13th on the official money list. The top-25 at the end of 2009 earn their PGA Tour cards.
Mulroy is five-for-five in cuts made this year. He is coming off his best finish so far, a T4 last week at the Athens Regional Foundation Classic. He is currently 24th on the official money list.
Both Mulroy and Bjornstad highlight the strength of international players on the Nationwide Tour. Mulroy is from Durban, South Africa and Bjornstad a native of Oslo, Sweden.
Two shots behind the leaders at 7 under par are Brad Elder (68), Kyle Reifers (67), D.J. Brigman (67), Chris Smith (68) and Marco Dawson (69)
The field was cut after the second round to 61 players at 1 under or better.
It was warm and dry in Valdosta for Round 2. Temperatures soared to nearly 90 degrees with light southeast wind and full sunshine. The weekend will feature similar conditions with light easterly winds and highs in the middle to upper 80s.
The third round begins at 8:06 a.m. Saturday morning with twosomes going off the first tee in nine-minute intervals.
Second-round notebook:
* Bjornstad’s 64 ties the course record at Kinderlou Forest set by Paul Dickinson in 2007.
* Past champions of this event in the field include Bryan DeCorso (1 over, CUT) and John Kimbell (2 under, T39). DeCorso and Kimbell won in 2008 and 2007 respectively.
* Sponsor exemption Brent Witcher shot a 1-over-par 72 in the second round, finishing at 2 over cumulatively and missing the cut. Witcher is a senior at Valdosta State University and earned All America honors in 2008.
* Keegan Bradley played his way into the South Georgia Classic after shooting a 65 at the Monday qualifier. At 2 under par for the Tournament, he is T39 and will make the cut in his first professional start on Tour. Bradley is the nephew of LGPA Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley.
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