Cameron Young fired a 7-under 64 in the second round to vault into the lead at the John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run.
Young improved upon on Thursday’s stellar 65 to get to 13-under 129, two strokes ahead of Adam Schenk, Brendon Todd and South Africa’s Garrick Higgo.
At No.19 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Young is the highest-ranked player in the field at a tournament most elite players are skipping to focus on the upcoming Open Championship.
But the John Deere Classic also has a reputation for crowning young, first-time PGA Tour winners, and Young would fit that bill.
The 26-year-old was PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last season, when he finished runner-up at five events, including The Open at St Andrews. But Young is still looking for his first win on tour.
“There’s a lot of golf left, and there’s a lot of people that are three and four shots behind me, and that can go away really quick,” Young said.
“There’s just nothing that I can take for granted in that respect. It’s a golf course that is very scorable when you are in control, but if you play it kind of loosely, it’s not that easy either.”
Schenk and Higgo carded rounds of 66 and Todd had a 65 Friday.
Swedish rookie Ludvig Aberg, who has made the cut in three straight PGA Tour events since turning pro last month, is in his best position yet to contend.
Like Young, Aberg carded a 64 on Friday and is tied for fifth at 10 under, along with Denny McCarthy (64) and William Mouw (66).
Aaron Baddeley (67) and Harrison Endycott (69) are the leading Australians at five under, with Geoff Ogilvy (68) one further back.