Austin Hitt maintains Orlando International Am Lead

ORLANDO, FL (December 29, 2017) - The advantage has been trimmed to one but it is still Austin Hitt in front at the Orlando International Amateur. Friday's second round wasn't as impressive as his opening 8-under 64 but Hitt was still able to put together a 3-under 69 to move to 11-under with just the final round remaining. A sophomore for North Carolina, Hitt was even-par through the first six holes before finding his grove during the middle portion of his round with four birdies between Nos. 8-13. Hitt did drop a shot on the 15th hole but his 4-under in six hole stretch was enough to give him a one shot lead heading into Saturday. Through two days at the Magnolia Course of the Walt Disney World Golf Complex Hitt has played Nos. 8-13 a combined 10-under with eight birdies and an eagle. Auburn junior Ryan Knop put together the round of the day to shoot up the leaderboard and into second place. Knop began the day 3-under before reaching 10-under with a bogey-free 7-under 65 that included five birdies and an eagle. The second round eagle came on the par-5 4th hole while the birdies were penciled in on the 3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th and 11th holes. Knop, a transfer from UC Davis, is playing his first season for the Tigers and so far he has recorded one top-five and two top-10 showings. William Buhl (Arkansas) is third at 6-under, Jordan Hahn (Wisconsin) sits in fourth at 5-under while three others are 4-under in a tie for fifth. ROUND ONE RECAP With a flawless round of golf Austin Hitt sits atop the leaderboard following day one of the Orlando International Amateur. A sophomore for North Carolina, Hitt tore apart the Magnolia Course of the Walt Disney World Golf Complex on Thursday with an 8-under 64. Hitt started his day with three straight pars before rolling in his first birdie on No. 4. The 4th hole birdie was the beginning of an 8-under in 10-hole stretch that included five more birdies and an eagle on the par-5 10th. During the fall portion of the Tar Heels season Hitt had his best showing at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate where he tied for sixth while also finishing inside the top-25 on two other occasions. Four shots back in second place is the 4-under Jordan Hahn. On Thursday Hahn, a sophomore for Wisconsin, tallied five birdies and and one bogey on the way to a 4-under 68. With still two rounds remaining five others are one shot further back at 3-under in a tie for third while three more are 2-under in a tie for eighth.