Zhang, Hillier go low to share Players Am lead

7/13/2018 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Andy Zhang (Florida Athletics photo)

Despite oppressive Lowcountry heat, Zhang and Hillier are double-digits in the red at Berkeley Hall Club

BLUFFTON, S.C. (July 13, 2018) – It’s 90 degrees and feels like 103 at Berkeley Hall Club, but the scores keep dropping. After 36 holes at the prestigious invitation-only event in the Lowcountry, Daniel Hillier and Andy Zhang are tied for the lead at 10 under. The round of the day belonged to Zhang. An 8-under 63 rocketed the Florida sophomore-to-be up the leaderboard and into a share of the lead. So far this summer, Zhang, who is coming off a college season in which he led Gator scoring and won twice, has finished T-21 at the Northeast Amateur and T-6 at the Sunnehanna Amateur. For his part, Hillier has been the most consistent player through two rounds. His second-round 67 followed a first-round 65. He has made only two bogeys in 36 holes. The New Zealander, who plays a worldwide schedule, tied for 7th at the European Amateur last month and made match play at the British Amateur before that. Berkeley Hall played nearly one shot easier on Friday than it did on Thursday. Thirty-seven of the 80 players in the field are under par for the week. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the second round was that first-round leader Luke Schniederjans faded away. The Georgia Tech player was 3 over in his first nine holes and could only manage a 1-over 72 for the day. It dropped him to 7 under for the tournament and into a share of fourth. Georgia sophomore Davis Thompson, Clemson senior Bryson Nimmer (who was runner-up here a year ago) and Brandon Mancheno, the Auburn sophomore who won medalist honors at the 2015 U.S. Junior, are also on that number. Will Grimmer leads a pack of five players tied for eighth. Grimmer, the incoming Ohio State senior who played in the 2014 and ’18 U.S. Opens, eagled the par-5 second on Friday. He had four other birdies in a round of 4-under 67.

Results: Players Amateur

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	John Augenstein	Owensboro, KY	1200	66-67-68-67=268
2	Andy Zhang	, China	900	69-63-71-69=272
3	Will Grimmer	Cincinnati, OH	700	69-67-68-69=273
T4	Brandon Mancheno	Jacksonville, FL	700	69-66-70-69=274
T4	Spencer Ralston	Gainesville, GA	700	68-68-73-65=274

View full results for Players Amateur

About the Players Amateur

While competing in the 1999 US Amateur Championship at Pebble Beach, former US Walker Cup Team members, Duke Delcher and Tom McKnight discussed the formation of a premier 72-hole stroke play amateur golf tournament. The inaugural Players Amateur was ...

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