Zach Barbin, an assistant pro at the family-owned Chesapeake Bay Golf Club in Rising Sun, Md., creeped up the leaderboard with a 2-under-par 70 at the PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Friday and was alone in sixth place and just three shots out of the lead at the halfway point of the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship.
Barbin headed a trio of Philadelphia Section PGA pros who are very much in contention going into the weekend in the NCR Assistant PPC
Zac Oakley, an instructor at Bidermann Golf Course who finished in a tie for second place in the Assistant PPC a year ago, was just a shot behind Barbin in a tie for seventh place after posting a second straight 1-under 71 over the 7,193-yard, par-72 Dye Course layout.
Brian Bergstol, the head of instruction at the Shawnee Inn & Golf Resort, struggled a little with a 2-over 74, which left him among a large group tied for 12th place at 1-over 145. Bergstol finished alone in second place in the Assistant PPC in 2021 and in a tie for second a year later in 2022.
Barbin joined Oakley and Bergstol in a large group tied for seventh place following an opening round of 1-under 71.
Looks like Barbin started off the 10th tee for the second day in a row. He made a birdie at the 11th hole, but started going in the wrong direction with bogeys at 13, 14 and 17. He righted the ship with a birdie at the 18th hole, then finished strong with birdies at one, four and seven that got him to 2-under for the round and 3-under for the tournament.
Sandra Changkija, who works out of the pro shop at the Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and is one of the top women club pros in the country, added a 2-under 70 in Friday’s second round to her opening-round 68 to take a one-shot lead at the halfway point with a 6-under 138 total.
The Dye Course played to 6,097 yards for Changkija and the other women assistant pros in the field.
Oakley also started off the 10th tee for the second day in a row and made a bogey at the 11th hole before getting the shot back with a birdie at 12. Oakley made a bogey at the second hole, but got it into red figures for the day with birdies at five and seven.
Bergstol, too, started off the 10th tee for the second straight day and followed up a bogey at the 11th hole with a birdie at 13. Bergstol made back-to-back bogeys at the 15th and 16th holes and turned for the front nine at 2-over for the round.
Bergstol made a birdie at the first hole, gave that shot back with a bogey at two, made a birdie at seven and gave that shot back with a bogey at nine that left him at 1-over 145 at the halfway point of the tournament.
A fourth member of the Philly Section contingent, Andrew Cornish, an assistant pro at Green Valley Country Club, bounced back from an opening-round 79 with a solid 1-over 73 in Friday’s second round to survive the 36-hole cut with an 8-over 152 total.
The cut fell at 9-over 153.
Chad Ferguson, an assistant pro at Pine Valley Golf Club, missed the cut by a shot as he added a 79 in Friday’s second round to his opening round of 3-over 75 for a 10-over 154 total.
Andrew Turner, an assistant pro at the Country Club of York, had opened with a solid 2-over 74, but struggled to an 81 in Friday’s second round and missed the cut with an 11-over 155 total.
Rounding out the Philly Section contingent was Matt Zehner, a colleague of Ferguson’s in the Pine Valley pro shop. Zehner added an 82 in Friday’s second round to his opening-round 83 for a 165 total.
Changkija started off the 10th and came out of the gate with a birdie at the 10th hole. A bogey at the 14th hole left her at even-par for her round heading to the front nine. After a bogey at the fourth hole left Changkija 1-over for her round, she rattled off three straight birdies at five, six and seven to get it to 6-under at the halfway point of the NCR Assistant PPC.
Adam Fisher of Raleigh, N.C., who works out of the pro shop at North Ridge Country Club, had taken the lead with a sparkling 5-under 67 in the opening round. He matched par in Friday’s second round with a 72 and headed a group of four players tied for second place, a shot behind Changkija at 5-under 139.
Michael Balcar, an assistant pro at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee, Ohio, surged up the leaderboard with a 5-under 67 as he joined the group at 5-under 139. Balcar had matched par in the opening round with a 72.
Rounding out the quartet at 5-under were Evan Wartgow of Midvale, Utah and an assistant pro at Koshkonong Mounds Country Club and Dalton Bartlett, an assistant pro at Rockledge Country Club in Rockledge, Fla.
Wartgow added a 4-under 68 to his opening-round 71 to get it to 5-under while Bartlett added a 3-under 69 to his opening-round 70.
The National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship is also supported by The Golf Channel, Srixon and Cleveland Golf.
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