After 36 holes, UCF freshman Hans Risvaer leads the loaded field at The Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga., by one shot at 12-under.
Risvaer has shot rounds of 65-67 to get to 12-under and has recorded 12 birdies, an eagle and one double bogey. He shot a bogey-free 5-under 67 in the second round. Risvaer won the 2023 Western Junior.
Maxwell Ford of North Carolina and Nathan Franks of South Carolina are T2 at 11-under. Ford finished T2 last year with Neal Shipley, the 2024 low amateur at the Masters.
His caddy for the tournament is his brother, David Ford, who also plays for North Carolina and is ranked No. 5 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com World Rankings.
David Ford also told the Dogwood that "I should have played the Dogwood this year," so the lefty from UNC might join the field next year.
Bruce Murphy of Tennessee, Garrett Engle of Chattanooga, Kye Meeks of Ole Miss, and Shubham Jaglan of South Florida are T4 at 10-under. Meeks was the first-round leader after an opening round of 9-under 63, but a 1-under 71 in the second round saw him fall to T4.
Tegan Andrews of Cal State Fullerton, Patrick McCann of Florida State, and William Duquette of Kansas are T8 at 9-under to round out the top ten.
After the opening 18 holes, Carson Bacha and Hunter Logan, the 2022 and 2023 champions, are 5-under and 4-under through the first 36 holes.
The history of this prestigious event extends back to 1941 when legendary amateur Tommy Barnes captured his first of five Dogwood titles. Evolving with the times, the modern Dogwood has produced fine champions like Webb Simpson (’07), Brian Harman (’09), Dawson Armstrong (’15), and in 2019 Brandon Mancheno.