Gagne, Pak and Yang take lead into the weekend

WASKESIU, Saskatchewan—Luis Gagne and John Pak joined first-round leader Gunn Yang at 10-under 130 on Friday to share the 36-hole lead at PGA TOUR Canada’s Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open presented by Brandt.

Yang, of South Korea, followed his opening 63 with a 3-under 67 to match Gagne of Costa Rica, who shot 65, and Pak of Scotch Plains, New Jersey, who shot 64 at Elk Ridge Resort.

The trio holds a one-stroke lead over Wilson Andress of Charleston, South Carolina, Connor Howe of Ogden, Utah, Thomas Longbella of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, and Derek Hitchner of Minneapolis, Minnesota. All are tied for fourth, at 9-under 131, in pursuit of the season-long Fortinet Cup.

The leading Canadian players are Richard Jung of Markham, Ontario, and Ziggy Nathu of Richmond, British Columbia, who both shot 67 and are tied for 17th. Étienne Papineau of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, winner of last week’s Royal Beach Victoria Open, had a double bogey on his 17th hole and shot 68, dropping him into a tie for 24th.

Yang’s inability to make putts slowed his charge, even though he spent most of the round hitting approach shots close to the hole. He made five birdies, but they were offset by two bogeys.

“I just didn’t drop any putts inside, like, 10 feet,” Yang said. “I had five, six chances, and I just blew it away. So hopefully I do well [Saturday] and get the putter going. It’s been good just to make sure that I put myself in contention going into the third and fourth rounds.”

Gagne started on the back nine and birdied six of his first 10 holes before a bogey on his 11th hole and a double bogey on the 12th momentarily sidetracked him. The former LSU golfer recovered to add two more birdies, giving him eight for the day.

“I was feeling really good at the turn, and then a couple three-putts, but I bounced back pretty nice toward the end, so I’m pretty pleased with my round,” Gagne said. “I was just trying to find a par after going bogey-double. It was a good two-putt on the next par-3, and I got the birdie on No. 5.”

Pak missed the cut last week at the Royal Beach Victoria Open in his PGA TOUR Canada debut. Friday, Pak posted a clean scorecard that included six birdies, the last one on No. 17 when he hit a 9-iron through a tricky wind to within seven feet and made the putt.

“Everything was just pretty solid,” Pak said. “I kept the ball in front of me. You really have to do that out there with these tight fairways. You can’t really have any big misses, so I just kept the ball in front of me and putted it pretty well.”

Andress, who finished his career at Georgia Southern University this spring, jumped into contention with a bogey-free 64 that ended with an eagle. At No. 9, a 403-yard par 4, Andress had 107 yards to a blind green and heard the reaction from the crowd when it rolled into the hole.

“The people on the green went crazy, so it’s a pretty cool way to finish the day,” he said.

Andress previously got up and down from 153 yards on the 14th hole after hitting his tee shot in the woods and electing to chip back into the fairway.

Howe, a recent Georgia Tech graduate, followed his first-round 65 with a 66. He recorded seven birdies, but a bogey and a double bogey sidetracked him.

Longbella, who played at the University of Minnesota, followed his 64 with a second-round 67. Longbella’s round included six birdies but was offset by three bogeys on his second nine.

Hitchner, a recent Pepperdine graduate making his professional debut, shot a bogey-free 65.

Michael Sweeney of Enfield, Connecticut, shot the low round of the day. His 7-under 63 moved him up 38 spots and into eighth place, at 8-under. Five players are tied for ninth at 7 under.