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Cheng Tsung Pan eagled the par-4 18th hole (his ninth) The Reserve at Lake Keowee Friday. Pan and first-round leader Matt Fast are tied for the halfway lead at 13-under-par 130.
Matt Fast and Cheng Tsung Pan are tied for the BMW Charity Pro-Am 36-hole lead at 13-under par130 after Friday’s second round of the Web.com tournament.
Fast entered Friday’s second round with a share of the first-round lead, following an 8-under 63 at tournament host Thornblade Club on Thursday.
At The Reserve at Lake Keowee, the former Mississippi State golfer kept his momentum intact, posting six birdies en route to a 5-under 67 – good for a 13-under 130 tally and the outright lead for all of one hour before Pan finished play.
Playing much of the second round amidst overcast skies and scattered showers, Fast shined early on the Jack Nicklaus-designed course adjacent to Lake Keowee, posting three birdies in his first five holes.
His torrid start, however, gave way to a mid-round lull featuring 10 consecutive pars from No. 4 through No. 15.
“It was frustrating there for a while,” Fast said. “I was hitting it good and not getting anything out of it.”
Fast’s failure to convert birdie tries ended abruptly, and in stellar fashion, over his final three holes. Approach shots to 3 feet, 15 feet and 10 feet rounded out a closing tear for Fast, 29, who converted each birdie try for a three-birdie finish that vaulted him from a tie for eighth into the solo-lead, albeit temporarily.
Fast will play his third course in three days on Saturday, but insists the simplicity of approach remains the same.
For Pan, Friday’s round at The Reserve at Lake Keowee was a veritable flurry of red figures, with seven birdies and a dramatic hole-out for eagle on the par-4 18th (his ninth hole) giving way to a second-round 63.
The former Washington Huskie star birdied three of his first eight holes before holing a 6-iron from 173 yards on the uphill 18th.
“I hit it really good, really pure. I hit it just like I wanted to, and then my friends on the green started yelling, ‘It’s in. It’s in,” said Pan. “It was really good to make an eagle there. It’s a tough hole, so it was nice to do something special.”
Pan birdied Nos. 1 and 2 to reach 7-under before closing with a pair of birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 amidst a brief downpour and strong winds to match Fast atop the 36-hole leaderboard.
Brandon Hagy and Matt Atkins are tied for third at 12-under par, one shot back of the co-leaders.
Like Hagy, Atkins opened his week at The Reserve at Lake Keowee, posting a 6-under 66 before matching his first-round score with a follow-up 66 at The Preserve at Verdae. The former USC-Aiken golfer posted seven birdies against just one bogey, including birdies on each of his final two holes – the par-4 eighth and the par-5 ninth.
Drew Weaver, Julian Etulain and Jason Allred are all tied for fifth at 11-under par.
