Hastings surged on Friday afternoon, tallying eight birdies capped by one on his final hole following the weather delay. The seven-under-par 65 in the second round is a Championship career low in his sixth appearance. The senior at San Diego State finished fourth last year in Panama City, Panama after a final-round 67.

“I knew I needed to make a bit of a move today after a slow start yesterday; I got two of the first three [birdies] and got hot in the middle of the round,” said Hastings. “Then the horn blew when I was on 14 when I was seven under, which was a little bit of a buzzkill. Changing conditions was a big thing to adjust to.”

Fortlage, who is making his fourth LAAC start this week, put together the best round of his Championship career and set a new single-round mark for a Paraguayan player with a six-under 66, spurred by four birdies in his opening six holes. The 18-year-old is a freshman at the University of Arkansas and is looking to surpass the best finish by a player from Paraguay (previously T-9 in 2018 by Gustavo Silvero).

Pablo Lacayo of Nicaragua, recorded a 17 on No. 2 to open his fifth LAAC start, finishing 17-over-par on Thursday afternoon. On Friday, the 20-year-old Sacred Heart University junior fired a 69 to record the most contrasting pair of rounds in Championship history.

“I’m trying to forget about it, leave it in the past,” said Lacayo. “That’s just how golf is sometimes. Today, I just made sure to keep my head up and enjoy this great tournament with a smile on my face.”