SECOND STRAIGHT 67 GIVES HENDRY THE LEAD

Farmville, V.A. – Joel Hendry began the second round of the Tarheel Tour’s Manor Classic trailing a threesome of top players by one shot. By the end of the day Thursday, he sat atop the leaderboard with a two-shot lead over a stellar field, and 18 holes away from victory.

Hendry, who calls Bluffton, SC home after a standout college career at the University of New Mexico, took advantage of benign early conditions with a pairing in the second group off of No. 10 on Thursday. While a bogey at the par-4 11th didn’t exactly have him thinking about the course record, a hot stretch shortly after that certainly got his attention. Hendry regained his lost shot with a birdie at the par-4 14th and quickly brought the Manor Golf Club layout to it’s proverbial knees with birdies on Nos. 17, 18, 1, 2, and 3 to move to 5-under on his round and 10-under for the tournament. A bogey at the par-5 sixth dropped him back to four under before a closing birdie at the ninth gave him a second straight 67 and a two-shot lead over Andy Bare heading into Friday’s final round.

Bare, who was a co-leader after Wednesday’s first round along with Scott Usher and Sean Szerencits, did not get much going in his second round as birdies seemed few and far between for the man who finished T20 at last year’s Wyndham Championship on the PGA Tour.
However, Bare managed to salvage a respectable round with birdies at 16 and 18 and a second-round 70, all good enough to place him in the final pairing on Friday with Hendry.

Steve Sokol, a developmental-tour veteran who is no stranger to low rounds, sits at 7-under 137 after two rounds and tied for third with Usher. Sokol’s round was much the same as Bare’s with birdies seemingly being erased with ensuing bogeys, but closing birdies at 17 and 18 kept the Oxford, CT resident within shouting distance.

Usher’s second round was nice and steady through six holes with five pars and a birdie at the par-3 12th, but drama crept slowly with a bogey at the 16th and then hit with a thud at the 17th as his tee shot went out-of-bounds en route to a double-bogey six. To his credit, Usher would re-group and play the rest of his round in 3-under, good enough for a round of 71 and two-day total 7-under 137.

The rounds of the day came from Anthony Zummo and former UNC-Charlotte star Matt Mincer, who each carded a 6-under 66 over the scenic Manor layout. Mincer is in his first season of professional golf after being a key component in the resurrection of the Charlotte 49er golf program, which is currently ranked fourth in the nation by Golfweek Magazine.

Past experience and success could vault Bare or Stephen Poole Jr. (8-under 138, T5) to the title on Friday as they are the only players in the top 15 with Tarheel Tour victories to their names. The 36-hole cut fell at even-par 144 with 57 players making the cut; however, the Tarheel Tour’s cut policy allows for only those players at 143 or better to play in the final round. All players at even par will be credited with a made cut and will split 45th-47th place money. Friday’s final round will begin off of Nos. 1 and 10 at 8:20 AM. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.