Oakley, Bensel are tied for sixth after two rounds of Assistant PGA Professional Championship

 

   Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Club, and Sandy Run Country Club pro Trevor Bensel both landed on 3-under-par 141 Friday and were in the group tied for sixth place after two rounds of the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at the PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla.

   Oakley, the reigning Philadelphia PGA Professional Championship winner, and Bensel stood five shots out of the lead shared by Mike Ballo Jr. of Westchester Country Club and Preston Cole of the Quail Hollow Club at the halfway point of the Assistant PGA Professional Championship, which is supported by Srixon, Cleveland Golf and Asics.

   Oakley, who finished in a tie for fourth place in this championship a year ago at the Wanamaker Course, had opened with a 2-under 70 and made two birdies in his last three holes to get it in at 1-under 71.

   Oakley, winner of the Philadelphia Assistant PGA Professional Championship at Rolling Green Golf Club in July, got off to a good start Friday with birdies at the first and seventh holes to get it to 4-under for the championship.

   Oakley struggled a little in the middle of the round with bogeys at the eighth, ninth and 15^th holes, but saved his round with birdies at 16 and 18 to remain in contention.

   Players have been battling wet conditions in the first two rounds and the Wanamaker Course played every inch of its 6,935 yards in Friday’s second round.

   Bensel had grabbed the lead with an opening round of 6-under 66, but struggled early in his second round. Starting off the 10^th tee, Bensel made a bogey at the 12^th hole and then made back-to-back double bogeys at 14 and 15.

   Bensel, who finished in a tie for 20^th place in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship a year ago, righted the ship with a birdie at the 16^th hole and then settled down with eight straight pars before a birdie at seven enabled him to finish with a 3-over 75 and join his fellow Philadelphia Section PGA pro Oakley at 3-under.

   Mike Ballo Jr., who had trailed Bensel by a shot with his opening round of 5-under 67, also started off the 10^th tee and made birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to complete a 3-under 69 that left him in a tie atop the leaderboard at 8-under 136.

   Mike Ballo had an up-and-down first nine holes, the incoming nine at the Wanamaker Course, as he got off to a good start with birdies at the 11^th and 14^th holes, made a bogey at 15, a birdie at 16 and a bogey at 17 and headed for the front nine at 1-under for the round.

   Mike Ballo then settled down with seven straight pars before recording the two late birdies that got him into a tie for the lead.

   Cole, who had opened with a 4-under 68, jump-started his second round by chipping in for eagle at the par-5 opening hole at the Wanamaker Course on his way to a second straight 68 that enabled him to join Mike Ballo at 8-under 136.

   Cole made a birdie at the third hole to get it to 3-under for the round, but it was roller-coaster ride after that. Cole made a bogey at the fifth hole, a birdie at seven, a bogey at 10, a birdie at 11 and a bogey at 12 before posting birdies at 13 and 16 to get it to 8-under for the championship.

   Mike Ballo had a familiar face chasing him in younger brother Peter Ballo, a fellow Metropolitan Section pro at Connecticut Golf Club.

   Peter Ballo added a sparkling 5-under 67 to his opening-round 70 to trail his older brother and Cole by a shot at 7-under 137.

   It was a strong showing for Team Ballo a year ago in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship as Mike Ballo finished in a tie for sixth place and Peter Ballo landed in a tie for 12^th.

   Another member of the Philadelphia Section contingent, Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, had been the runnerup in the Assistant PGA Professional Championship each of the last two years.

   Bergstol, winner of the Haverford Philadelphia PGA Classic and its whopping top prize of $150,000 in May, had opened with a solid 1-under 71, but struggled a little in Friday’s second round, his 3-over 75 leaving him in the group tied for 24^th place with a 2-over 146 total.

   Rusty Harbold, who plays out of the pro shop at Philadelphia Cricket Club, added a 3-over 75 to his opening round of 1-over 73 and was in the group tied for 40^th place at 4-over 148 total.

   Parks Price, an instructor at the Country Club of York, gave the Philadelphia Section a fifth representative playing the weekend at the Wanamaker Club as he added a 2-over 74 in Friday’s second round to his opening-round 77 for a 7-over 151 total. The 36-hole cut fell at 8-over 152.

   A pair of Philadelphia Section pros who work in the pro shop at Manufacturers Golf & Country Club, Alex Willey and Rob Wolfers, failed to survive the cut, each ending up in the group at 11-over 155.

   Willey added a 79 in Friday’s second round to his opening round of 4-over 76 while Wolfers finished up with a 78 after opening with a 5-over 77.

   Ashley Grier, a former colleague of Bensel’s in the Overbrook Golf Club pro shop, made the cut as she carded a second straight 3-over 75 for a 6-over 150 total. Grier, who was the best female player in the Philadelphia Section when she was at Overbrook, is working in the Middle Atlantic Section at the Yinglings Golf Center in Hagerstown, Md.