An ill wind must have blown in overnight in south Florida, as all but one contestant shot 70 or higher in round two. US Amateur champion Kelly Kraft added a 72 to his opening 66 to take a one-stroke lead over France’s Gary Stal. Unfortunately for the western New York contingent, the ill wind blew Buffalo’s Chris Covelli out of contention.
Covelli had a rough go of it over the Miami Beach Golf Club course. After opening with 69, the high winds gusted the Buffalo resident to an 80 and a tie for 47th with, among many, Elma’s Jonathan Clark. Clark followed an opening 75 with 74 to move into the top 50 after 36 holes. Both Covelli and Clark survived the 36-hole cut, set at 152, or +11.
Not so fortunate was another threesome of area golfers. Billy Hanes of Elma followed his 78 with an 86, the same 2nd-round score posted by Amherst’s Jacob Kreuz (169). Bill Gaffney of Williamsville improved 10 strokes, to an 83, to sit at 176 after two rounds.
