Windsor, ON – Erick Justesen tied a tournament record with a under 62 to take a one-shot lead halfway through the Canadian Tour Championship.
Justesen tied Byron Smith's 2007 mark and set a course record with an eagle, eight birdies and a bogey, finishing 36 holes at 14-under 128 at The Ambassador Golf Club. He's seeking his first Canadian Tour win at this flagship event.
First-round co-leader Richard Scott is the only player within three of Justesen, posting a five-under 66 to move to 13-under overall. Matt Hoffman (65), Mike Grob (65), Oscar Serna (66), Santiago Russi (64) and Stuart Anderson (63) share third at minus-10.
Roger Sloan, who shared the lead with Scott entering the day, stumbled to an even-par 71 and fell to 15th at eight-under.
The Philadelphia native Justesen didn't start off so great, following birdies at Nos. 3 and 5 with a bogey at No. 6 to stand at six-under.
From there, though, Justesen caught fire.
On the seventh, Justesen recorded an eagle, and he followed it with three straight birdies to get to 11-under after the 10th hole. Down the stretch, he posted birdies at the 13th, 15th and 17th to take the lead.
"It was fun. I hit it really well, made a lot of putts and just almost had a clean scorecard," Justesen said. "I just concentrate on course management and keep doing what I'm doing."
Scott had six birdies and a bogey to stay in contention, though he didn't have as dynamic a round as Justesen.
"I just tried to stay patient all day. I knew the birdies were out there," Scott said. "I didn't really make any bombs today, but I made enough birdie putts and didn't miss too many short putts."
Josh Habig matched Justesen's 62 on Friday, but it was good enough only for a share of eighth at nine-under with Johnny Bloomfield (66), Joel Dahmen (65), Dodge Kemmer (66), Wil Collins (69), Garrett Sapp (68) and Creighton Honeck (67).
NOTES: The cut fell at three-under 139, with 73 players making it to the weekend...Scott is also trying to win for the first time on tour...Justesen has never posted a top-10 in his career.