Puerto Rico Classic: Georgia goes low in round two to lead by two shots

February 12, 2024 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

Nels Surtani (Purdue Athletics Photo)

Nels Surtani shot a flawless second round 7-under 65 to jump into the individual lead

Nels Surtani of Purdue is representing the host school well as he leads the Puerto Rico Classic at The Grand Reserve Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Surtani shot a second-round bogey-free 7-under 65 to jump four spots and into the solo lead by one shot at 12-under. He shot a first-round 5-under 67 to start off strong.

Surtani started on Hole No. 3 with a par and then birdied Holes No. 4, 5, and 7 to start 3-under through five holes. He added birdies on Holes No. 9, 14, 15, and 2 as he finished his round to take the lead.

Iowa freshman and first-round leader Noah Kent is in solo second place at 11-under, and Ben Warian of Minnesota is in solo third place at 10-under. Kent shot a first-round 9-under 63 and followed it up with a second-round 2-under 70.

Six golfers are T4 at 9-under, and five golfers are T10 at 8-under. 2023 Walker Cupper Nick Gabrelcik is T10 at 8-under.

Surtani is currently ranked No. 179 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com Amateur Rankings and is a back-to-back winner of the prestigious Northern Amateur.

In the team competition, Georgia leads by two shots at 33-under after carding a 20-under 268 in the second round. The Bulldogs have recorded team scores of 275-268 to earn the lead with 18 holes remaining.

North Florida is in solo second place at 31-under, Tennessee is in solo third place at 30-under, Purdue is in solo fourth place at 23-under, and Minnesota is in solo fifth place at 21-under.

Results: Puerto Rico Classic

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
T1	Bryan Lee	Fairfax, VA	700	72-66-63=201
T1	Nels Surtani	Noblesville, IN	700	67-65-69=201
T3	Ben Lorenz	Peoria, AZ	400	66-71-65=202
T3	Ben James	Milford, CT	400	69-67-66=202
T3	Connor Creasy	Abingdon, VA	400	70-65-67=202