SAN JACINTO, California—Playing in the second-to-last group of Tuesday’s first round, Jake Vincent went out and shot the best round of the day, an opening 66. Wednesday morning, going out early and playing in the second grouping of the day, Vincent was even better, backing up the 66 with a stellar, 8-under 64. He made six birdies and an eagle at Soboba Springs Golf Course to take a commanding seven-shot lead into Thursday’s third round of PGA TOUR Canada’s fifth Qualifying Tournament. In second place is amateur Jack Avrit and pro David Kim, at 7-under.
Through 36 holes, Vincent, the former Southern Utah University golfer, has been the class of the event. The Palm Springs resident made five birdies, an eagle and a bogey in his opening round then turned in the clean scorecard in round two.
“I’m striking the ball pretty well and putting the ball in good spots on these greens. I’ve been fortunate to make quite a few putts,” he said, admitting he’s been nervous both rounds, having never held status on any PGA TOUR-affiliated Tour—any tour for that matter. “I just do what I can to make each shot and live with the outcome.”
Vincent’s first-round eagle came at the par-5 sixth, with his second eagle of the week right after he made the turn to the back nine Wednesday, watching his second-shot approach into the par-4 10th from 113 yards drop into the hole. “That was just a good (yardage) number for me,” Vincent said of his sand wedge hole-out.
Vincent has also pinpointed the par-3 14th as a hole where he wants to play well. After a par there Tuesday, he made birdie in his second round. “I feel like that’s a hard hole. It’s a par-3, playing like a par-3 and-a-half. With the water and trouble everywhere, it’s not the longest hole and it’s not that hard, but visually it’s pretty demanding,” Vincent explained. “That was a nice birdie there, and that got me going.”
Avrit is a fifth-year senior at Santa Clara and entered his first Qualifying Tournament with few expectations. He may be reassessing his goals after his 7-under start. His plan is to turn pro once the Broncos’ season concludes.
“I didn’t want to put too much pressure on myself. I just wanted to maintain a good mindset throughout the week. I wanted to enjoy the opportunity and get some good experience no matter how it went,” said the native of San Luis Obispo, California.
Avrit was bogey-free Wednesday, a much more consistent round than his opener that saw him hit a rough patch late in the first round. At 3-under through 12 Tuesday, Avrit bogeyed the 13th and 16th holes and double-bogeyed the 14th, with a par squeezed in at 15. A day later, he was 3-under in that sequence, playing under ideal scoring conditions with very little wind.
“The wind honestly didn’t pick up until the last hole. It was fairly calm until my second shot on the last (hole),” Avrit said knowing even with his solid start, he still has a lot of ground to make up, with Vincent setting the pace.
The leaders—Vincent, Avrit and Kim—will begin their third rounds, starting on No. 1 at 12:45 p.m., PDT.
