Peter Koutroumpis (@pksport)
RALEIGH, NC – Raleigh native Carter Jenkins pulled closer to the top of the leaderboard following the second round of play in the 2024 UNC Health Championship at Raleigh Country Club on Friday.
Nelson Ledesma carded the low round of the day, a 6-under par 64, and catapulted himself into first place early during the round.
Even with sunny and dry conditions in the high 70s, the consistent breeze helped to keep the greens firm and slippery, challenging the field to be creative with their shotmaking throughout the day.
Eventually, Patrick Welch (-3, 67), and Jenkins (-2, 68) moved up to join Daniel Summerhays (E, 70) in second place behind Ledesma.
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2024 UNC Health Championship – Leaderboard
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Dropping course knowledge
Possessing the most knowledge of the course, having played it “50-60 times” while growing up and playing in Raleigh, Jenkins was not too aggressive in his play to score birdies.
Beginning the day off the 10th tee, he posted a birdie on 13 before pulling back to even on the day following a bogey on 16.
Jenkins remained steady, using his long putter to maintain his forward momentum by scoring pars before he birded his 16th and 18th holes, on the par-4 seventh and ninth holes, and pulled closer to the top of the leaderboard.
His consistency in playing to the course conditions allowed him to card just two bogeys through 36 holes.
No one else in the field had fewer bogeys or worse following the opening two rounds of play.
“The course is playing tough,” Jenkins noted.
“It’s getting pretty firm and pretty crispy and these greens, as much slope as they have, it’s pretty tough to make putts on them. So yeah, a lot of today was just like yesterday – just trying to grind out pars and keep pace – and saving a shot. Whether it’s a birdie or a par save, it doesn’t matter in my mind. Really just trying to continue to move forward, keep a positive outlook on the round, and not beat yourself up because it’s playing hard.
“You know where to miss it, you know how to manage your misses. I’m just glad I’ve been able to do that the first couple of days and hopefully I can continue to do it this weekend and put up some good numbers.”
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Notables: The second-round scoring average was 72.49 (+2.49)…Sam Saunders (T9) was the only other player to record a round of 4-under or better on the day…Summerhays (T2/-5) sits inside the top 10 after two rounds for the second consecutive week – his best 36-hole position on the Korn Ferry Tour since 2019…Welch (T2/-5) carded his 67 with six birdies against three bogeys…Jenkins is making his sixth ever start at the UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH. His first PGA TOUR-sanctioned start came in this event in 2011 at the age of 15 as a sponsor exemption.
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