Max Kennedy has earned himself a Saturday tee time on his PGA Tour debut in the Puerto Rico Open at Grand Reserve Golf Club after overcoming a tough patch mid-round to finish strongly.
The 23-year-old rookie pro is playing on a sponsor’s exemption earned through his victory at the General Hackler Championship during his time at the University of Louisville, and had opened with an impressive five-under 67, but found the going tougher on day two as the wind picked up in the afternoon.
After starting his round with four pars, he opened his birdie account on the par-5 14th – his fifth – and immediately followed with another on the par-3 15th, but back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 – two of the toughest holes on the course – halted his momentum.
Another bogey on the second saw him slip outside the provisional cutline and he knew that he’d have to pick up at least one shot and maybe two on his closing seven. He duly obliged, getting the first of these on the third and then bagged another birdie on the par-3 seventh to move back into red figures for the day.
Despite failing to take advantage of either of the par-5s in his final four holes, his -6 36-hole tally leaves him tied for 52nd and he made the cut with a shot to spare.
Another PGA Tour debutant in Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen is bogey-free through 36 holes and shooting a 7-under 65 on Friday for a one-shot lead at -15.
Ranked No. 88 in the world, Neergaard-Petersen received a commissioner’s exemption for international players into the event, which is played opposite the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard at Bay Hill Club & Lodge.
“Once I get into the round and kind of get a couple holes in, it just kind of feels like any other day on the golf course really,” Neergaard-Petersen said. “I’m just trying to stay in the present.”
The 25-year-old plays on the DP World Tour and was second in his previous start, shooting a final-round 65 to finish one shot behind Haotong Li at the Qatar Masters.
Davis Riley made four straight birdies on his back nine for a 66 and is one shot back in soft conditions with light wind. Austin Cook (65) is two shots out of the lead, and the group at 12-under included William Mouw, Noah Goodwin and Karl Vilips.
“We haven’t gotten crazy gusty winds, so just enough to make you think,” Riley said. “I think there’s definitely scorable opportunities out there, so I think you just kind of have to be pretty aggressive into the greens.”
Fifteen players were 10-under or better. That group did not include Kevin Roy, who followed up his first-round 62 with a 1-over 73.
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