Round #2 Results I Round #3 Pairings

ZIONSVILLE, Ind. - Coming off a disappointing first day, junior Michael Powell got off to a quick start on Friday and carded a second round, even-par 71 to move his tournament score to 153 (82-71). Powell bridied three of his first five holes and turned a 33 in on the front side.

A trio of bogeys on the back resulted in a 38, finishing his day at 71.

Powell opened with a birdie on the par-5 No. 10 and then birdied No. 12 to get to 2-under. After a par on 13, he needed just a short putt to make his third birdie on No. 14. The birdie on 14 was even sweeter since he made a triple bogey on the same hole on Thursday.

"The best thing to happen was to get a birdie on the very first hole. From there, it was just back to regular golf and helps get the negative thoughts out of your head," Powell said. "That got me going."

"I wasn't intimidated. Yesterday, I just hit a bad shot (on 14). Today, I was just stuffing them in close to the pins. That was the key to getting off to a good start. That, and leaving them on the right sides of the pins.

Perhaps his most impressive shot on the front nine was a long, bender of a 20-foot putt on No. 15 to save par. Powell started the roll about five or six feet right of the cup before it disappeared for a par four. In some respects, it was foreshadowing as Powell had a couple other long par putts find the bottom of the cup on the back nine.

"That was my first long putt for par. It was a huge momentum save," Powell said. "I had already made some birdies, so that was key to keeping my momentum going that direction." 

Powell missed chances to score on Nos. 16 and 17 though. On the par-3 16th, his tee shot landed about seven feet from the pin, but he pushed the birdie putt just past the hole before making par. On the 515-yard, par-5 17th, Powell had about a 20-yard wedge coming into the green, but left himself work after airing a flick shot past the hole. He two putted from there to score his third of what would be five straight pars. 

"That was disappointing because I had practiced that same shot 100 times the night before. They closed the range early, so all I worked on last night were my shots around the greens," Powell said. "That shot specifically, I practiced a lot last night. The same distance and same green elevation."

Powell gave back strokes with bogeys on Nos. 2 and 5, but rolled in long par saves on Nos. 6 and 7.

"The real story was making the putts on six and seven," Powell said. "You don't expect to make all those, but those kept my round from getting away from me."

Powell's round ended with a bogey on No. 9, although it was of semi-dramatic fashion. He left himself a blind shot between trees on an uphill lie just short of the green, but threaded the needle and left a tough, short downhill putt for par. He misfired on the par before tapping in for bogey. 

Powell will tee off at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday off No. 10 in final round action.