Arnett gets hot mid-round, takes Chattanooga Choo Choo lead

Jacob Arnett has been consistent through two rounds at Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Tenn. Arnett made birdies en masse in Tuesday’s second round. Eight circles on his card were enough to cover a double and a triple, and leave Arnett with a second consecutive round of 4-under 68. He leads the tournament at the halfway point with an 8-under total.

Arnett entered the day only one behind first-round co-leaders Ben Rebne and Nick Robillard. Those men fell to 72 and 76, respectively, leaving the door open for Arnett, who recently finished his senior season at Oglethorpe, where he was the leading scorer.

Stephen Reynolds is close on Rebne’s heels. The Furman player had a second-round 69 for a 7-under total.

“I started poorly, but waited for it to turn around,” Reynolds said. “I have been close to playing well this summer. It’s been coming.”

University of Alabama Birmingham’s Ethan Hagood is solo third at 6 under.

As for Rebne, a Council Fire local who plays for Dalton State College, the struggle was on the putting greens.

“I couldn’t get the putts to fall,” he said. “With seven holes left, I was looking for seven good chances.”

A birdie on his final hole was crucial in keeping Rebne near the top of the leaderboard. At 5 under, he is tied for fourth with the University of Cincinnati’s Clay Amlung and Georgia Southern’s Jake Maples.