Bergstol heads foursome of Philadelphia Section PGA pros through to the weekend in NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship

    Brian Bergstol, representing the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, headed a group of four Philadelphia Section PGA pros who, it appears, will make the cut in the 45^th National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   An hour rain delay at the start of Friday’s second round left 21 players still on the golf course when darkness fell, leaving the round incomplete. One of them was Sunnybrook Golf Club assistant pro Brett Walker, who had one of the best rounds of the day going as he was 4-under-par with three holes to play and 1-under for the championship.

   Bergstol got off to a fast start with three straight birdies that got him to 7-under for the championship. He couldn’t quite sustain that early momentum, but he still carded a solid 1-under 71 that left him in a tie for sixth place at 5-under 139.

   That left him seven shots behind the leader, Jin Chung, an instructor at the Chateau Elan Golf Club in Braselton, Ga. who added a sizzling 7-under 65 to his opening-round 67 for a 12-under 132 total. That gave Chung, the runnerup in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago, with a three-shot lead as he bids to claim the top prize of $12,000 out of a total purse of $150,000.

   The NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf, XXIO and ASICS.

   Bergstol started off the 10^th tee and made birdies at the 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes. He rattled off nine straight pars before bogeys at the fourth and sixth holes left him with a 1-under round.

   Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club and the freshly minted 2021 Haverford Trust Rolex Player of the Year in the Philadelphia Section PGA, struggled a little in Friday’s second round, adding a 1-over 73 to his opening-round 70 as he stood among the group tied for 27^th place at 1-under when play was suspended for the day.

   Walker had started the day five shots behind Oakley after opening with a 3-over 75. But the winner of the 100^th Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship at Aronimink Golf Club and Applebrook Golf Club, surged up the leaderboard to join Oakley at 1-under for the championship.

   Walker earned his ticket to the PGA Golf Club by capturing the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship in August at Cedarbrook Country Club. He made birdies at the first, third, fifth, ninth and 12^th holes to get it to 5-under for the day before a bogey at 14 slowed his roll.

   Walker will return to the golf course at 7:30 Saturday morning with three holes left to try to go a little lower.

   Walker certainly has some good vibes at the Wanamaker Couse. His 2-under 70 in the final round of the PGA Professional Championship in April punched Walker’s ticket to the PGA Championship, one of professional golf’s four major championships, in May at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course on the South Carolina coast.

   Mike Tobiason, who works out of the Deerfield Golf Club pro shop, also made a move up the leaderboard in Friday’s second round as he registered a solid 3-under 69 and stood at 1-over 145 and in a tie for 45^th place. Tobiason had struggled to a 4-over 76 in Thursday’s opening round, but was safely inside the projected cut line of 4-over after his nice bounce-back round Friday.

   A year ago, Overbrook Golf Club assistant pro Ashley Grier, the 2020 Women’s PGA Player of the Year, was the only Philadelphia Section PGA representative to survive the cut and play four rounds in the NCR Assistant PGA Professional Championship as she finished in a tie for 34^th place at the PGA Golf Club. This year she will be the only Philadelphia Section representative to fail to make the cut.

   But after opening with a 6-over 78 in Thursday’s opening round, Grier matched par with a solid 72 in Friday’s second round for a 6-over 150 total.

   Nobody on a wet and chilly Friday on the Wanamaker Course was hotter than Chung, who opened his second round with an eagle at the par-5 opening hole.

   Chung, representing the Georgia Section PGA, gave a shot back with a bogey at the second hole, but proceeded to rattle off six birdies in a 10-hole stretch from the sixth through the 16^th holes. Chung got on his roll with birdies at the sixth, seventh and eighth holes, then added birdies at 13, 15 and 16.

   Chung briefly stumbled with his second bogey of the day at the 17^th hole, but got one more birdie, his seventh of the round, at the Wanamaker Course’s finishing hole to get to the clubhouse at 12-under.

   Eric Steger, representing the Indiana Section PGA, made a big move in Friday’s second round, putting together a sparkling 6-under 66, which combined with his opening-round 69, left him alone in second place at 9-under 135, three shots behind Chung.

   Hagen Barmasse, playing out of the South Central Section, added a 5-under 67 to his opening-round 69 and was a shot behind Steger in third place at 8-under 136.