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.
Related: NORTHERN AMATEUR: NELS SURTANI GOES BACK-TO-BACK
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.