By By Marty Stamper
The Meridian Star
The leaders remained the same while the chasers swapped positions in the second round of the Bill Davis Memorial/Fourth of July Invitational at Northwood Country Club.
First-round leaders Kelly Swain and Scott Morgan shot a three-under par 68 Saturday to keep a one-stroke lead heading into today's final round. Their two-day score of 132 is 10 strokes under par.
The teams of Joel Mabry and Colton Tisdale and Tim Fitzgerald and Justin Elliot were both one stroke back at 133.
Swain and Morgan were three-under after six holes in the second round as Morgan birdied Nos. 3 and 4 and Swain birdied No. 6. Swain later birdied No. 13 before the team gave one stroke back with a bogey on No. 15.
The leaders weren't alone in having a hard day. In the championship flight, only two teams improved from their first round scores while nine scored higher in Saturday morning's play. One team shot the same score both days.
Fitzgerald and Elliot shot a five-under par 66 in the second round to move into a second-place tie at 133. Starting on No. 3, they soon fell victim to a bogey on No. 6 before picking up birdies on Nos. 7, 9, and 10. After a stretch of five straight pars, they came back to birdie Nos. 16, 18, and 2 to close the day one stroke off the lead. They were one of the two teams in the top flight to better their opening round score.
Also at 133 is the team of Mabry and Tisdale. They started at No. 2 and promptly suffered a bogey. Birdies on Nos. 3, 4, and 6, along with two more birdies at 10 and 11 moved them up to a tie for second place.
Dan Angero and Jimmy Carle also improved their score in Saturday's round as they fired a five-under par 66 to close to within two strokes of the lead at 134.
Angero and Carle started on No. 4 and Carle birdied No. 7 with Angero doing the same at No. 9. Carle got another birdie on No. 11 with Angero birdieing No. 13 for their third birdie of the day on the par-3s. They canceled a birdie on No. 16 with a bogey on 17 before Angero added a birdie on No. 1.
Judge Little and Tommy Little went from one stroke back after the first day to three down after shooting a 70 Saturday. They opened the day with a birdie on No. 1 before a stretch of three straight bogeys at Nos. 4-6 temporarily dropped them six strokes behind Swain and Morgan.
After another bogey at No. 10, the Littles came back to birdie Nos. 7, 12, 16, and 18 to remain in striking range.
Tied for sixth place at 136 are the teams of Alex Weddington and David Ray and Earl Aycock Jr. and Steve Stewart.
Weddington and Ray shot a 1-under par 70 in the second round, mixing birdies at Nos. 3, 8, 13, and 17 with bogeys at Nos. 2, 9, and 11.
Aycock and Stewart could have been higher up the leaderboard except for a disastrous double-bogey 7 on No. 6. They had birdies on Nos. 4, 5, 10, 12, 13, and 16 to go with a bogey at No. 8.
Five shots back at 137 is the team of Paul Entrekin and Mac Barnes. They fired a two-under 69 in the second round, getting birdies on Nos. 3, 12, and 15 along with a bogey on No. 11.
Also in the championship flight are the teams of Chris Crowe-John Kelly and Jon Jackson-Chuck Gordon at 139, Walter Rogers-Lee Rogers at 141, and Bent Moulds-Mike Cantey at 143.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.