Greensboro, NC - Blake Brown of Cypress, Texas, holds a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Wyndham Invitational presented by Odyssey. Brown carded a 2-under-par round to maintain his position atop a tightly contested leaderboard. He came out strong, posting four birdies on the front nine and adding another on the back to finish with five birdies on the day.
"Even though this is a special event, I am trying to treat this like any other tournament so I can stay focused."
Just one shot behind Brown, Giuseppe Puebla and Willie Gordon are tied for second at 6-under-par 134.
Puebla, of Royal Palm Beach, Florida, had a stellar round to catapult himself into the top five heading into the final day. He recorded five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 5, setting himself up for a strong finish.
Gordon, from Hot Springs, Arkansas, made an impressive leap up the leaderboard, climbing 16 spots. He birdied all but three holes on the front nine and added three more on the back to total eight birdies for the round.
Tied for fourth at 5-under-par 135 are Jessy Huebner, Cole Stockard, Connor Herrera, and Kuan Zhou, rounding out the top five.
Huebner, of Port St. Lucie, Florida, delivered a clean back nine with no bogeys and four birdies to shoot 67 for the day.
Stockard, from Dalton, Georgia, recorded five birdies and an eagle on the par-5 No. 15, climbing 14 spots on the leaderboard with a strong second round.
Herrera, of San Diego, California, overcame a slow start and found his rhythm on the back nine, where he birdied three consecutive holes to stay in contention.
Zhou of Walton-on-Thames, United Kingdom, opened his round bogey-free on the front nine and finished with a 69, highlighted by three birdies.
Tournament History
The Wyndham Invitational has occurred annually since 2002, changing host venues each year.
Noteworthy host courses have included:
- The Cardinal Golf and Country Club
- Forest Oaks Country Club
Notable past champions include:
- Brian Harman (2002, 2003)
- Justin Thomas (2009)
- Henry Guan (2022)
- Blades Brown (2023)
Seven of the Top 30 Players in the Rolex AJGA Rankings
No. 4 Asher Vargas of Spring, Texas
No. 13 Jessy Huebner of Port St. Lucie, Florida
No. 20 Giuseppe Puebla of Royal Palm Beach, Florida
No. 21 Phillip Dunham of Ponte Verda Beach, Florida
No. 22 Chase Hughes of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
No. 26 Cole Stockard of Dalton, Georgia
No. 28 Brooks Simmons of Dallas, Texas