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Weldon Spring, MO - The second round of the 33rd Metropolitan Amateur Championship at Persimmon Woods Golf Club is officially complete. Coming into Round 2, Sam Migdal led the pack at seven-under (-7) par with Griffin St. Pierre and Peter Weaver tied for second at four-under (-4) par. With twenty-nine competitors at even par or better, there is opportunity over Round 2 and Round 3 for anyone to string together low rounds to win the championship. When arriving at the course early this morning there were some looming dark clouds off in the distance, but they stayed at a distance, not delaying play. Cloudy skies were present throughout the morning, and the sun began to break through in the afternoon. A light shower took place around 5:00pm, but did not last long. 

 

Players battled throughout the day to shoot low enough to make the cut that happens after Round 2. With Sam Migdal out in front after the first round, players were determined to bring in low scores to close the gap. Zach Walsh of Forest Hills Country Club was prepared to do just that, bringing in a score of six-under (-6) par for Round 2. Starting on Hole 10, Walsh began his round with a birdie and eagle. Things slowed down a bit for him on the back nine after that, but he found another eagle on Hole 4 and two more birdies on the front nine. This score beats the lowest second round score in Metropolitan Amateur Championship history by one-stroke, as well as, breaks the record for lowest first 36 holes score. The lowest second round score was held by Mike Sabo, Brad Carpenter, Joe Migdal, Nick Westrich, and Cy Moritz until today. The lowest first 36 holes score record was formerly held by Brad Carpenter and Chris Kovach at 136. Combining Walsh’s first and second round scores brought him to eight-under (-8) par, 134, and pushed him ahead of Migdal to the top of the leaderboard.

 

Justin Bryant of St. Louis Country Club came in with the second best round of the morning wave at four-under (-4) par. Bryant had a bogey-free back nine to start his day with three birdies which placed him in a good position heading into the front nine, after starting on Hole 10. Combining his first and second round scores brings Bryant to a total of five-under (-5) par, sitting in solo third place with the afternoon wave still to play. Also firing a four-under (-4) par second round was Brian Hall. Hall started his day strong with a bogey-free front nine and was able to bring his total score to three-under (-3) par. Peter Weaver of Bellerive Country Club came into Round 2 at four-under (-4) par, and managed to card another round under par. With an eagle on Hole 18, Weaver shot one-under (-1) par today, totalling five-under (-5) par and placing him in the top five after the morning wave. Thomas Wuennenberg of the Metropolitan eClub closed out his first two rounds with back-to-back scores of two-under (-2) par, 69. With two eagles on the card for Round 2, Wuennenberg also placed himself in the top five with the afternoon wave still to play at four-under (-4) par. Kevin Jeske of Aberdeen Golf Club and Ryan Eckelkamp of Franklin County Country Club both sit just outside the top five with Brian Hall at three-under (-3) par.

 

After seeing the morning scores coming in before their rounds began, the afternoon wave knew what they needed to do to make the cut and move up the leaderboard. Bringing in the lowest score of the afternoon was Ryan Sullivan of Tapawingo National Golf Club at four-under (-4) par. After shooting over par yesterday, Sullivan bounced back to string together a bogey-free round to bring his gross score to one-under (-1) par. Reigning champion, Drew Pranger of Glen Echo Country Club, started the day with two bogeys on the back nine, but came back to make two birdies on the front, finishing the day at even par and sitting tied for fifth at three-under (-3) par. Kyle Weldon of the Metropolitan eClub came in with the second best round of the afternoon at three-under (-3) par. After a first round of even par, Weldon was able to climb up the leaderboard to sit tied for fifth after finishing the day on a bogey-free front nine. It was a rough day for Round 1 front runner, Sam Migdal of Norwood Hills Country Club. Migdal did find two birdies on the front nine, but it was not enough to keep him from dropping back with a round score of four-over (+4) par. Migdal now sits with the group tied for fifth at three-under (-3) par, but not out of reach with a good round tomorrow. 

 

Now that all of the scores are in, some players from the morning wave sit higher than they did when they concluded their round. Going into the Final Round, Zach Walsh maintains the lead at eight-under (-8) par. Three-strokes back at five-under (-5) par are Justin Bryant and Peter Weaver, tied for second. Thomas Wuennenberg is sitting in solo fourth at four-under (-4) par. Six players are stacked at three-under (-3) par. These six include: Kevin Jeske, Ryan Eckelkamp, Brian Hall, Drew Pranger, Kyle Weldon, and Sam Migdal. Max Kreikemeier is in solo eleventh at two-under (-2) par, while Drew Wielgus, Ryan Sullivan, and Alex Ciaramitaro are tied for twelfth at one-under (-1) par. 

The cut following Round 2 was made at five-over (+5) par. Forty-one players will make the cut, and return for Round 3 in the morning. Play will begin at 7:00am with the final group teeing off at 10:20am. All tee times are set and can be viewed by clicking here. By this time tomorrow one player will lift the Jim Tom Blair Trophy. Who will it be?

Full Results for Round 2 
Round 2 Morning Recap