Azalea Invitational: Christovich and Zhang Tied for 36-hole Lead
4/1/2016 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: View results for Azalea Invitational , Country Club of Charleston
Two-tied for lead at the 68th edition of the Azalea Invitational
CHARLESTON, SC (April 1, 2016)--Patrick Christovich and Andy Zhang are 8-under-par and share the lead at the midway point of the Azalea Invitational after a windy Friday. Kyle Nathan and Ryan Celano are one-back and tied for third.
Christovich (New Orleans, LA), now a co-leader at the end of each of the first two days followed his first round 66 up with a 3-under-par 68. He is looking for his first win at the Country Club of Charleston after a fifth place finish last year and T3 in 2014.
“The wind really started for us on No. 4. On No. 6 my ball started rolling because of the wind. By 16 it started slowing down, but it was whipping out there,” said Christovich to The Post and Courier following his round.
Through 36-holes Christovich has played nearly flawless golf with just one bogey during yesterday's round. During his bogey-free second round the New Orleans resident carded birdies on No. 5, 10 and 13.
Andy Zhang who competed in the U.S. Open in 2012 at 14-years-old has posted a pair of 4-under-par 67's. Zhang, a native of Bejing who now lives in Florida, only had one blemish on his card, a bogey on No. 17. He offset that bogey with five birdies including consecutive birds on No. 4 and 5.
The biggest move in the second round came from Kyle Nathan (-7). After an opening round 1-over-par 72 Nathan exploded with a bogey-free 8-under-par 63. Nathan shot an opening nine 3-under 33 before going five-under on the backside to shoot 30. The round really picked up steam from holes 10-14 when Nathan birdied four of five holes.
First round co-leader William Buhl (-4) was 1-over-par on the day and is currently in a tie for 12th. Defending champion Todd White (-2) is tied for 16th after rounds of 71-69.
It will be tightly packed scoreboard at the start of play tomorrow with 11 golfers within four of the lead. In all there are 27 golfers under-par.
-Tommy Braswell of The Post and Courier contributed to this story
Results: Azalea Invitational
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | , China | 1000 | 67-67-67-68=269 | |
| 2 | Inman, SC | 700 | 67-70-68-70=275 | |
| T3 | Minneapolis, MN | 500 | 70-71-68-68=277 | |
| T3 | Centreville, MD | 500 | 71-66-71-69=277 | |
| 5 | Naples, FL | 500 | 68-67-71-72=278 |
About the Azalea Invitational
72-hole stroke play championship with a 54-hole cut on a 1925 Seth Raynor design. Good mix of college players, juniors and mid amateurs. 7 spots available in a qualifier. Impressive list of past champions at this traditional event. Reigning USGA cham...
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