Drake Harvey arrived at 色多多 Country Club to get a few practice swings Saturday morning before he began his second round in the Scott Robertson Memorial. It didn鈥檛 take long for the Las Vegas native to notice the wind was whipping around the sprawling 27-hole course.
There were consistent winds of 16 mph with gusts topping at 30 mph. The conditions played into Harvey鈥檚 strengths as frequently as he plays golf in windy conditions in his home state.
鈥淚 knew it was definitely going to help me,鈥 he said.
Harvey made his move up the boys 15-18 division scoreboard with a round of 4-under 67. He jumped into second place and one shot behind first-round leader Talon Dingledine heading into Sunday鈥檚 final round.
Harvey, a BYU recruit, made seven birdies and three bogeys in his second round. He rolled a 25-foot putt to the lip of the cup on his final hole of the round to nearly add another birdie to his tally.
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鈥淚鈥檝e just been able to work the ball really well the past two days and I鈥檓 good at flighting it,鈥 Harvey said. 鈥淓very time it was blowing 20 (mph) in my face, I usually hit a good shot. Sometimes I didn鈥檛. I was just able to hit it close and make a lot of birdies. Made a few bogeys, but good that I made a lot more birdies.鈥
The wind was tough in every division Saturday and was especially true for the girls 15-18 division. Only two players posted rounds under par, and first-round leader Kathryn Ha overcame her first bogeys of the tournament to hold a five-shot lead heading into the final round.
Ha opened her round with two bogeys in the first three holes. She bounced back with back-to-back birdies at Nos. 5 and 6 and made par on 11 of her final 12 holes while others struggled in the closing holes.
The Salem High senior is at 5 under for the tournament.
Ha
鈥淚 think the birdie on 5 was pretty crucial for me to kind of settle myself down,鈥 Ha said after shooting 1-over 72 in the second round. 鈥淢y start was 鈥 mainly mental. It was just kind of the nerves; I didn鈥檛 handle them as well as I should have. However, the two birdies back-to-back really helped. It was tough.鈥
Eileen Park shot even-par 71 for the second straight round and is five shots back of Ha in second place.
Ysabel Liu and Riley Grimm were the only players in the girls 15-18 division to shoot under par, and both finished at 1-under 70 for the round.
Liu moved into a tie for third at 2 over with Alexandra Phung, North Carolina signee Grace Ridenour and Texas recruit Amy Lee.
Grimm is tied for seventh at 3 over with Lord Botetourt sophomore Alisa Davidova, Salem sophomore Ashnoor Kaur and High Point signee Makayla Grubb.
鈥淭he wind made it pretty difficult to navigate your yardages and calculations given the tough pins that we had as well,鈥 Ha said. 鈥淚t proved to be a challenge all day.鈥
Dingledine remained in the boys 15-18 division lead with a second straight consistent round. The William & Mary signee recorded only two bogeys for the second straight day and took a one-shot lead with his birdie at the par-3 No. 16.
Dingledine
He has tallied 10 birdies compared to four bogeys and is at 6 under for the tournament.
鈥淚t was definitely a tougher golf course out there today with the wind blowing at times close to 25 mph,鈥 Dingledine said. 鈥淚t was blowing for sure, which makes this golf course very tricky. Just going back to playing smart golf, fairways and greens, and made a couple of solid mistakes, which can happen out there in the wind. Just happy with how I finished for sure.鈥
Virginia recruit Jager Pain shot 1-under 70 and is in third at 4 under.
Grayson Baucom and Pennson Badgett both shot 3-under 68 on Saturday and are tied for fourth at 3 under for the tournament.
鈥淥n the front nine I kind of just hung in there. I didn鈥檛 do too well,鈥 Baucom said. 鈥淧utter got hot, birdied all the par-3s on the back nine and made about 20, 25-footers on all of those.鈥
Jake Eickhoff is in sixth at 2 under.
Blacksburg native and Auburn signee Jake Albert moved up the leaderboard by shooting 3-under 68 and is tied for seventh at 1 under for the tournament.
鈥淚 stayed patient out there all day. I knew it was going to be windy,鈥 Albert said. 鈥淚 woke up and looked at the weather and knew it was going to be windy. Just knew I had to be patient, hit good shots, keep it in the right spots on the golf course and I鈥檇 be fine.鈥
SJ Thomas holds an 11-shot lead in the boys 14-under division. He is at 10 under for the tournament after shooting 4-under 67 in the second round.
Ira Joshi holds a two-shot lead over Christine Park in the girls 14-under division.
