Morton and Schmidt Surge Up the Leaderboard During Round 2 of the Metropolitan Open
Lake St. Louis, MO - Round 2 was yet another eventful day of the Metropolitan Open at Lake Forest Country Club. The day started with Pierce Grieve on top of the leaderboard at five-under par. Seven golfers followed him tied for second at four-under par: Blake McShea, Daniel Wetterich, Jansen Preston, Thomas Lilly, Spencer Cross, Avery Schnieder and Tyler Isenhart. It would be a riveting day to see who would keep second and who would possibly move up to first. Round 2 began at 7:15am with players going off in two waves on holes 1 and 10.
James Morton of Aurora, IL climbed up the leaderboard this morning to start. While he was one-under yesterday, during the second round he had a whopping nine birdies and only one bogey, bringing him to the top at nine-under (-9). Ryan Cole of Glen Allen, VA, who is also the 2024 Metropolitan Open Champion, showed his experience in the Championship today. After shooting five birdies, he ended five-under (-5) and ninth on the leaderboard.
Trey Shirley of Bardstown, KY made a comeback after a bogey on hole 2. He had seven birdies, showing his drive to make it up the leaderboard. Shirley may have been even yesterday, but he ended round 2 six-under (-6). Tyler Jones of Westerville, OH displayed a similar drive to Shirley. Despite two bogeys to start on holes 1 and 3, he shot a total of nine birdies to bring himself up the leaderboard and finish his round five-under (-5). Shirley finished tied for fifth and Jones tied for ninth with Cole.
Thomas Lilly of Wilmington, NC came in this morning tied for second. Eager to keep his second place spot, he shot four birdies this morning. Lilly ended six-under and tied for 5th with Shirley. Presten Richardson of Mount Vernon, MO came in eager like Lilly and shot four birdies on the front nine with four more on the back, finishing in fourth and 7-under (-7).
Avery Schnieder of New Albany, OH fought to keep his spot on the leaderboard this morning. With four birdies during round 1, he shot another four birdies during round 2 and an eagle. Schnieder ended his round in third at eight-under (-8). Tyler Isenhart of Geneva, IL who started this morning tied for second with Lilly and Schneider, managed to shoot an eagle on hole 3 to set the tone for his round. 3 birdies later, he ended tied with Shirley and Lilly for fifth and 6-under (-6).
Once the afternoon wave teed off at 12:15pm, Blake McShea of Wendell, NC fought along with the other players who started tied for second. With shooting four birdies on the front nine and finishing out with two on the back, he ended tied for fifth along with Shirley, Lilly and Schnieder at 6-under (-6). Connor Schmidt of Venetia, PA, shot up the leaderboard this afternoon. He came into the second round two-under. Not only was his round today bogey free, but he also carded five birdies and an eagle. He ended the day tying for the top spot with Morton at nine-under (-9) par.
After today, a cut for the top 40 players was made for the final round at even par. 45 players survived the cut. Three amateurs made the cut after round 2. These golfers include Justin Bryant of Ladue, MO, Harper Ackermann of Webster Groves, MO and Ryan Sullivan of Imperial, MO. Sullivan was the low amateur at last year’s Metropolitan Open.
The final round will begin at 7:00am tomorrow. With Morton and Schmidt tied for first and Schnieder close behind, it will make for an exciting round to see who will make it out on top. Watch our live leaderboard tomorrow to see the final results.