George Bradford keeps knocking on the door. This might be the weekend when someone finally answers and lets him in.
The 33-year-old Bradford, who hails from Columbia, Maryland, turned in another solid effort today to grab a one-stroke lead at the halfway point of the $125,000 Jane Rogers Championship of Mississauga.
Bradford is developing quite a relationship with the historic Lakeview course.
He was the first-round leader last year in the inaugural Jane Rogers event that was eventually won by Byron Smith and he’s enjoying success again this year after shooting a four-under-par 66 over the 6,404-yard, par-70 Lakeview layout today, giving him a two-round total of 131.
“I’ve made some adjustments to my game and I think I’ve eliminated a lot of the big numbers and mistakes,” said Bradford, who has been on a tear on the Canadian Tour since mid-June. “It has more to do with the mechanics. I think I’ve always had a good mind.”
Bradford had a couple of hiccups in Friday’s round, particularly when he made a double-bogey six on the 483-yard, par-4 seventh hole. But he made six birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16th hole.
“I just bogeyed the hole before and I was upset,” said Bradford. “The eagle put me back at ease.”
After his tee shot on the 16th, Bradford hit a six-iron 25 yards short of the green and then chipped in from there. He closed out the round with a chip-in birdie from the back of the green at the 18th.
Since the middle of June, Bradford has pocketed more than $43,000 in winnings and has moved up to fourth place on the Canadian Tour Order of Merit. Last week at the Montreal Open, he tied for first after regulation and then lost in a playoff. He tied for first in Alberta in June before losing in a playoff there as well.
Close on Bradford’s heels are Ryan Yip of Calgary and Alex Coe of LaQuinta, Calif. Yip matched Bradford’s 66 on Friday while Coe had the best round of the day, a five-under 65.
Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., who won last week in Montreal, was headed for the top of the leader board at 11 under par for the tournament mid way through the second round.
However, he faltered down the stretch with a double bogey at the 14th hole and finished with a quadruple bogey eight on the par-4 18th hole to drop down into a five-way tie for sixth place.
All three Mississaugans in the field failed to make the cut for the final two rounds.
Peter Laws shot 74 on Friday for a two-round total of 146 and missed the cut by four shots. Amateurs Graham Baillargeon and Greg Doherty were also eliminated. Baillargeon shot a two-over 72 today for a 36-hole total of 148. Doherty shot 75 after his opening-round 79 and ended up at 154.
A total of 73 players finished at two-over-par or better to advance to the weekend rounds.
Play wraps-up Sunday.
