California State Open: Smith maintains lead

TEMECULA, Calif. (Sept. 28, 2007)-- Nathan Smith isn't sure where his strong play is coming from, but he hopes it lasts for one more day. The first round leader of the California State Open backed up his 65 with a 2-under 70 and shot 9-under 135, leading three golfers by one stroke going into Saturday's final round at RedHawk Golf Club. "I didn't play as well as I did (Thursday), it was definitely a grind out there," Smith said. "I was able to work through it and make some clutch putts and got it to 9-under going into the last day." Smith was also helped by a crucial bogey save when his ball found itself up against a fence on No. 16. "I had to hit it off the fence and then I hit it off to the right of the green," Smith said. "Then I had to hit a flop from a bare lie and it was kind of gnarly. If I didn't catch it perfectly I was probably going out of bounds. To be able to make that bogey to stay at even par and then birdie 17 really helped. I'm ready to go tomorrow." Drew Scott, Tyler Williamson and last year?s winner, Ji Hwan Park are all at 8-under. Despite winning the tournament last year and posting a 6-under 66 in the opening round, defending champion, Park still had first tee jitters as he began the second round of the California State Open at Red Hawk Golf Club. The 18-year-old high school senior made birdie on his first two holes and finished with a 2-under-par 70 for a two-day total of 8-under par (136). Park is tied with Drew Scott and Tyler Williamson. Scott shot a second round 70, while Williamson carded a 67. Despite his success at this event, Park reached No. 9, his first hole, with butterflies in his stomach. "Everything is good now," Park said after his round. "I was nervous on the front. Something made problems in my brain. I shouldn't have been nervous but I was." Park's angst was quelled after his second consecutive birdie but the anxiety returned when he made bogey on holes 14, 15 and 16. He caught a break on the 210-yard par 3, 17th when he cleared the trap in front of the green and got a fortunate bounce that projected the ball forward, three feet from the cup. "My tee shot on 17 was lucky,", Park said. "It hit the front and rolled up close. I was yelling at it to go over the bunker." Park shot an even par 36 on his front and followed it up with a 2-under 34. The low round of the day belonged to Williamson, who hadn't planned on playing in the event until someone told him about it when he was registering to qualify for the Nationwide Tour event, the Mark Christopher Charity Classic that will be played next week. "I'm just having fun out there," said Williamson, who lives in Decatur, Alabama. "I didn't know about the tournament until a week ago." Scott knew he was in when he won the Southern California Open in June and got an automatic exemption into this event. There are 19 golfers within seven shots of the lead, including Steve Conway, who is four strokes behind Smith. "I think I'm in good position," said Conroy, who played collegiate golf at UCLA. "It's going to be tough to win, but I think I am OK going into the weekend." Nick Jones is not as certain about where he stands. Jones, whose first round was highlighted by a hole in one on the 355-yard par 4, 15th hole, shot a 70 and is five behind the leader. "I just didn't get some putts to fall," Jones said. "I didn't take advantage of some opportunities I had and just didn't score very well. I could have shot lower with a couple of good breaks, but both days I kind of shot the highest score I could of. I could have gotten more out of each round." The cut was 3-over par 147 with 62 players making the final round. Tennis champion Michael Chang fired a round of 80 to go with his opening round of 78 and missed the cut.