Spieth shoots second consecutive 66 at sedgefield country club
McConnell alone in second at 5-under-par
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Jordan Spieth of Dallas, shot his second 4-under-par 66 in as many days and leads the field at the FootJoy Invitational through two rounds of play. While Ian McConnell of Riverdale, Fla., who played in Spieth’s group, shot a 1-under-par 69 to stand alone in second place.Â
Conducted by the American Junior Golf Association, the FootJoy Invitational is a 72-hole stroke play event being held at Sedgefield Country Club. The 99-player field features golfers from 25 states and 10 foreign countries. The field includes 28 players who have already signed National Letters of Intent to play in college as well as 25 Rolex Junior All-Americans. Home of the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, the par-70 course is being played at 7,118 yards. Past champions of this event include Brian Harman, Daniel Woltman, Andrew Yun, Peter Uihlein and Cameron Peck.
Once again, Spieth had no problem picking apart Sedgefield’s front nine, as he carded four birdies en route to a 4-under-par 31. He now is 7-under-par for the tournament on the front nine.      Â
After finishing the front nine, his round quickly took a turn for the worse. Spieth missed fairways and Sedgefield punished him for it. Nos. 10, 11 and 13 resulted in bogeys and just like that, he was only 1-under-par for the day.  Â
“That was the problem, I put myself in bad positions,†Spieth said. “And I didn’t make any putts, which didn’t help.â€Â
After finding a par on No. 14, Spieth returned to his front-nine form. On the par-5 15th, he was on the green in two and two-putted for birdie. Then, on the par-3 16th, he made his eight-foot putt after his tee shot landed pin high. On No. 18, he made a good read, and watched as his 12-foot putt rolled right to left from above the hole and then disappear for his third birdie in four holes.
His impressive back-nine comeback restored his belief and confidence in his swing. Still, he knows there is a lot of golf to be played.
“I feel confident, but I also know that there are many great players right behind me, ready to attack the course and if they make the pin positions just a little easier tomorrow, then there’s going to be some guys going low,†Spieth said.  “I’m really excited to be in the lead, but at the same time, I need to stay focused and play my own game and reach my own goals.â€
McConnell was tied with Spieth through 33 holes before closing out his second round with a bogey on No. 17. He’ll begin the third round at 5-under-par 135.
Just one back of McConnell’s mark, at 4-under-par 136, are Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., Richard Werenski of South Hadley, Mass., and Tom Lovelady Birmingham, Ala.
               The American Junior Golf Association is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the overall growth and development of young men and women who aspire to earn college golf scholarships through competitive junior golf.
The largest Association of its kind, the AJGA has an annual junior membership (boys and girls ages 12-18) of more than 5,000 junior golfers from 50 states and more than 30 foreign countries.
Titleist, the AJGA’s National Sponsor, has been the catalyst and driving force behind the Association’s success since 1989. Rolex Watch USA, which is in its third decade of AJGA support, became the inaugural AJGA Premier Partner in 2004. In 2007, after 12 years of support, Polo Ralph Lauren became the AJGA’s second Premier Partner.
AJGA alumni have risen to the top of amateur, collegiate and professional golf. More than 200 former AJGA juniors currently play on the PGA and LPGA Tours and have compiled more than 350 wins. AJGA alumni include Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink, Davis Love III, Cristie Kerr, Pat Hurst, Paula Creamer, Brittany Lincicome, Morgan Pressel and Julieta Granada.
Third-round tee times for the FootJoy Invitational will run from 7 a.m. – 12:20 p.m. off the No. 1 tee at Sedgefield Country Club. For more information, please contact Tournament Headquarters at (336) 299-0744.
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Jordan Spieth, Dallas, Texas 66-66—132
Ian McConnell, Riverview, Fla. 66-69—135
Jim Liu, Smithtown, N.Y. 69-67—136
Richard Werenski, South Hadley, Mass. 68-68—136
Tom Lovelady, Birmingham, Ala. 67-69—136
Anthony Paolucci, Dallas, Texas 68-69—137
Joey Garber, Petoskey, Mich. 72-66—138
Justin Thomas, Goshen, Ky. 72-66—138
Andrew Presley, Fort Worth, Texas 72-66—138
Jesse Droemer, Houston, Texas 69-69—138
Rak Cho, Brea, Calif. 66-72—138
Adam Carson, Bristol, United Kingdom 70-69—139
Andrew Yun, Chandler, Ariz. 69-70—139
Ernesto Marin, Miami, Fla. 68-71—139
M.J. Maguire, St.Petersburg, Fla. 65-74—139
Blake Biddle, St. Charles, Ill. 73-67—140
Matthew Ceravolo, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 72-68—140
Logan Harrell, Huntersville, N.C. 71-69—140
Colton Staggs, Tulsa, Okla. 71-69—140
Anton Arboleda, La Canada, Calif. 70-70—140
Emiliano Grillo, Resistencia, Argentina 69-71—140
Jay Vandeventer, Bristol, Tenn. 67-73—140
Ramsey Sahyoun, Reseda, Calif. 72-69—141
Clark Palmer, Augusta, Ga. 72-69—141
James Back, Cerritos, Calif. 72-69—141
Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine, Fla. 71-70—141
Robert Hoadley, Southern Pines, N.C. 71-70—141
Santiago Gavino, San Luis Potosi, Mexico 69-72—141
Brenden Redfern, Austin, Texas 69-72—141
Stewart Hagestad, Newport Beach, Calif. 67-74—141
Daniel Lee, Valencia, Calif. 74-68—142
Ben Itterman, Carlsbad, Calif. 72-70—142
Alberto Sanchez, Nogales, Ariz. 72-70—142
Phillip Choi, Orlando, Fla. 72-70—142
Shawn Yim, Buford, Ga. 71-71—142
Michael Hebert, Orlando, Fla. 71-71—142
Daniel Walker, Earlysville, Va. 70-72—142
Michael Kim, Del Mar, Calif. 70-72—142
Curtis Thompson, Coral Springs, Fla. 70-72—142
Bobby Wyatt, Mobile, Ala. 70-72—142
Brian Langley, Blacksburg, Va. 68-74—142
David Persons, El Paso, Texas 68-74—142
Zeyu He, Shen Zhen, China 67-75—142
Mario Clemens, Beverly Hills, Calif. 66-76—142
Michael Cromie, Cary, N.C. 76-67—143
Tyler McCumber, Ponte Vedra, Fla. 74-69—143
Talor Gooch, Midwest City, Okla. 72-71—143
Will Pearson, Memphis, Tenn. 71-72—143
Kramer Hickok, Plano, Texas 71-72—143
Billy Kennerly, Alpharetta, Ga. 75-69—144
Crawford Reeves, Greenville, S.C. 74-70—144
Gavin Hall, Pittsford, N.Y. 73-71—144
Austin Cook, Jonesboro, Ark. 73-71—144
Andrew Decker, Greenville, N.C. 70-74—144
Byeong-hun An, Bradenton, Fla. 74-71—145
Shane Lebow, Santa Barbara, Calif. 73-72—145
Franco Castro, Alpharetta, Ga. 73-72—145
Seth Reeves, Duluth, Ga. 72-73—145
Michael Yiu, Laguna Hills, Calif. 72-73—145
Joaquin Lolas , Lima, Peru 72-73—145
Curtis Reed, Castroville, Texas 71-74—145
Mike Genovese, Pensacola, Fla. 69-76—145
Marcel Puyat, Bradenton, Fla. 75-71—146
Johnathan Schnitzer, Houston, Texas 74-72—146
Bo Andrews, Raleigh, N.C. 72-74—146
Landon Lyons, Baton Rouge, La. 71-75—146
Robert Register, Burlington, N.C. 71-75—146
Zhong Yang Fu, Bradenton, Fla. 69-77—146
Davis Lee, Hilton Head Island, S.C. 76-71—147
Blake Morris, Waterbury, Conn. 75-72—147
Michael Decker, Pebble Beach, Calif. 74-73—147
Robert Galbreath Jr., Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 76-72—148
Jack Walsh, Lawrenceville, Ga. 74-74—148
Nelson Hargrove, Haverford, Pa. 72-76—148
Jacob Everts, Ooltewah, Tenn. 76-73—149
John Young Kim, Los Alamitos, Calif. 73-76—149
Smylie Kaufman, Birmingham, Ala. 73-76—149
Kyle Kmiecik, Avon, Ohio 75-75—150
Justin Clement, Lexington, N.C. 74-76—150
Cody Kent, Castle Rock, Colo. 74-76—150
Yao-Chun Yang, Troy, Mich. 74-76—150
Ryan Zech, Kearney, Mo. 79-72—151
Brent McKenzie, Cambridge, Ontario, 78-73—151
Eli Juren, Austin, Texas 76-75—151
Trey Kaahanui, Tempe, Ariz. 68-83—151
Jordan Shuey, Mechanicsburg, Pa. 78-74—152
Tye Beall, El Paso, Texas 75-77—152
Christian Hawley, Kernersville, N.C. 74-78—152
Lam Steven, Hong Kong,, Hong Kong 71-81—152
Keith Mitchell, Chattanooga, Tenn. 76-77—153
Chris Worrell, Enid, Okla. 81-73—154
Brandon Rodgers, Knoxville, Tenn. 74-80—154
Lucas Bjerregaard, Frederikshavn, Denmark 75-80—155
Patrick Grimes, Palo Alto, Calif. 79-77—156
Zachary Balit, Bradenton, Fla. 80-77—157
Chase Marinell, Cape Coral, Fla. 75-82—157
Richard Dearinger, Chapel Hill, N.C. 81-77—158
Patrick Winther, Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla. 82-76—158
Jay Burlison, Salinas, Calif. 80-82—162