Stewart, Gibbs tied for 19th in Assistant PGA Professional Championship

   Four of the Philadelphia Section PGA’s five-man contingent at the 41^st National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship made the 36-hole cut that came after Friday’s second round at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Billy Stewart of The ACE Club and Jordan Gibbs of Gulph Mills Golf Club remained in lockstep in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which is also supported by Srixon/Cleveland Golf/XXIO, John Deere and Golf Advisor.

   Stewart and Gibbs were in a group tied for seventh after Thursday’s opening round after each carded a 4-under-par 68 over the 7,123-yard, par-72 Wanamaker Course layout and each carded a 2-over 74 in Friday’s second round as some of those notorious South Florida winds whipped up and made scores generally higher.

   That left Stewart and Gibbs in a group tied for 19^th at 2-under 142. It also leaves them paired together for Saturday’s third round as they battle for low-Philly Section honors.

   Sunnybrook Golf Club’s Andrew Turner might have a little bit of a say on that low-Philly Section battle before the weekend is out. Turner, winner of that whopping $100,000 payday for taking the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic title on his home course earlier this year, added a 2-over 74 to his opening-round 70 and is tied for 32^nd at even-par 144.

   Brian Bergstol of the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort made the cut on the number at 4-over 148. Bergstol, who captured the Philadelphia PGA Assistant Professional Championship at the Union League Golf Club at Torresdale, battled back after an opening-round 76 to match par in Friday’s second round with a 72.

   Stewart and Gibbs sit seven shots behind halfway leader Derek Berg of Sahalee Country Club in Washington. The winds didn’t seem to affect Berg much as he added a 5-under 67 to his opening-round 68 for a 36-hole total of 9-under 135.

   Ryan Botts of Old Hickory Country Club in Tennessee was one of four co-leaders after firing an opening-round 66, fell back a little with a 2-under 70 that left him alone in second place at 8-under 136, a shot behind Berg.

   The biggest move of the day was made by Casey Flenniken of Tessio Village’s Tanasi Course in Tennessee as he authored a brilliant 8-under 64, nine shots lower than his opening-round 73, to move into third place at 7-under 137. Flenniken had a pretty good round going at 3-under when he birdied 13, 14 and 15 and then eagled the par-5 16^th on his way to a back nine of 6-under 30.

   Benjamin Cook of Beechmont Country Club in Michigan had shared fifth place with an opening-round 67 and added a 1-under 71 for a 6-under 138 that left him alone in fourth place.

   The 33-year-old Stewart, a Malvern Prep and Saint Joseph’s University graduate, started on No. 10 at the Wanamaker Course Friday and had an up-and-down first nine on the backside. He bogeyed 12, birdied 13, bogeyed 14 and 15 and birdied 16 to get to 1-over for his round.

   Stewart, a product of the Llanerch Country Club junior program, then rattled off 10 straight pars before finishing up with a bogey at the ninth.

   The 30-year-old Gibbs, the 2016 Philadelphia Section PGA Championship winner, also went off the back nine and got off to a good start with birdies at 13 and 15. But a bogey at the 16^th and a double bogey at the 18^th slowed his momentum. He birdied the third to get back to even-par for the round, but finished up with bogeys at five and eight.

   Both Stewart and Gibbs have more than enough game to take a run at a top-10 finish in this event, which pays $12,000 to the winner out of a total purse of $113,000.

   Jakob Gerney of Trump National Golf Club Philadelphia added a 4-over 76 to his opening-round 75 for a 151 total that left him three shots off the cutoff to the low 70 and ties.