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Sports

McDaniel, Jutanugarn lead Junior PGA Championship

Associated Press
Published | Updated

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Tyler McDaniel of Manchester, Ky., shot a 3-under 69 on Wednesday to take the second-round lead in the Junior PGA Championship, and defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand had a 70 to remain on top in the girls' division.

The 16-year-old McDaniel had a 7-under 137 total at Sycamore Hills. Jim Liu of Smithtown, N.Y., the 2010 U.S. Junior Amateur winner, was a stroke back after a 71.

"I just played solid from tee to green," McDaniel said. "I have my putter going so well so far. It's saved shots, it's given me scoring opportunities and that's what you need to win."

McDaniel pointed to a tip he heard during Davis Love III's keynote speech Monday at the opening ceremony.

"Mr. Love said earlier this week that you have to take this game one shot at a time and you can't get ahead of yourself," McDaniel said. "I have been doing a great job of that this week. But I need to continue to do that and put myself in a position to score over the final two days."

Liu closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth.

"I hit a bad tee shot on my last hole, followed it up with a bad approach and then missed a short putt for bogey," Liu said. "The rest of the week, if I get any bad breaks like this, I need to keep a positive attitude and put myself in a position to win."

Beau Hossler, the 17-year-old Mission Viejo, Calif., player who tied for 29th in the U.S. Open in June, followed his opening 68 with a 77 to drop to 1 over. J.B. Williams of Danville, Ky., the first-round leader after matching the course record with a 65, also was 1 over after an 80.

The 16-year-old Jutanugarn, a 10-stroke winner last year, was 8 under — two strokes ahead of 15-year-old Samantha Wagner of Windermere, Fla. Wagner shot a 71.

"I played well at the start of my round," said Jutanugarn, the Canadian Women's Amateur winner. "I made birdies and hit my irons pretty good."

She struggled on her back nine, making three bogeys.

"At the end of the round, I didn't hit my irons good," Jutanugarn said. "I would hit it 10 yards over one green, and 10 yards in front of another. I need to improve."

Wagner rebounded after a double bogey on the par-5 15th, her sixth hole of the day.

"I was struggling on the front nine and just overall I wasn't that steady," Wagner said. "But I am pretty happy and the round could have been a lot worse than it was."

The fields will be cut to the low 30 and ties after the third round Thursday.