Course-record 61 highlights day two of the Greater Cedar Rapids Open

MARION - Mitchell Homb needed a change in his golf approach.

Aggressive first-round tactics that merely lumped him in with the rest of the pack gave way to conservative play throughout day two.

The 24-year-old Illinois native birdied 12 holes and tied the competitive course record with an 11-under par 61 in the second round of the Greater Cedar Rapids Open golf tournament Friday at Hunters Ridge Golf Course.

'I hit it pretty well, but I made a few long putts,” Homb said. 'I made a few par saves that were big to keep the round going.”

A score of 61 occurred twice before at the Greater Cedar Rapids Open. It helped Brock Mulder of Dallas, Texas win the 2011 title, while Mark Blakefield (Maysville, Ky.) equaled the feat last year.

The score was a nine-shot improvement from day one for Homb, an Illinois high school golf state champion in 2010 who played collegiately at Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

'I kind of laid back a little bit more and just made sure to hit it in a few more fairways and give myself a few more opportunities,” Homb said. 'Yesterday I pressed a little too much and went for a few things I probably shouldn't have.”

Homb has played professionally for two years and his highest professional-tournament finish is sixth place. He missed the cut at last weekend's Waterloo Open, but the second-round mastery of Hunters Ridge vaulted him into second place with one round to go.

Homb is a stroke behind Grant Leaver, 31, who birdied seven holes and posted an eagle at the par-5 No. 2 hole, which was capped by a 30-foot putt that found the bottom of the cup.

'I was in the left rough but I drew a decent lie,” Leaver said. 'I had a 6-iron in and hit a pretty good shot all the way to the back of the green. … I just made it. You don't always expect to make those, but I put a good roll on it.”

Leaver is a 10-year pro who owns five tournament wins on the Swing Thought Tour. The Centerville, Tenn., resident competed in six events on the Web.com Tour in 2011 and another five PGA Tour events.

Coupled with his 67 score from the first round, Leaver stands alone in first place at 14-under par.

'I've been in this position too many times to really have a game plan besides just staying patient,” Leaver said. 'You've got to look at it that way. It's going to be tough for everybody, whoever is trying to win. There are always a little bit more nerves trying to win a tournament, so you can't force anything.”

Former Iowa golfer Nate Yankovich is part of a trio of golfers who are four shots back. That group includes day-one leader Ryan Argotsinger, who spent the 2012-13 collegiate season at Northern Iowa and posted a 71 in the second round.

Carson Schaake, who finished his collegiate career at Iowa earlier this year, is part of a foursome that is tied for seventh place at 9-under par.

A trio of former area preps each had strong days in the amateur division. UNI golfer Matt Junge - who graduated from Cedar Rapids Xavier in 2014 - birdied eight of the first nine holes for a blistering score of 28 midway through the first round. With a chance at a share of the amateur lead, Junge was undone by a double-bogey at No. 18.

Linn-Mar alums Andrew Wood and Max Thrune posted scores of 67 and 69, respectively. Junge, Thrune and Wood are expected to be grouped together for Saturday's final round as they chase Australian Will Bruyeres, who will be a junior this fall at Mount Mercy.

Scott Pieri leads the senior professional division at 11-under par.

The first group tees off at 7 a.m. Saturday.

GREATER CEDAR RAPIDS OPEN

At Marion

(Hunters Ridge G.C., par 72)

SECOND ROUND

1. Grant Leaver 67-63-130

2. Mitchell Homb 70-61-131

3. Scott Pieri 65-68-133

T4. Ryan Argotsinger 63-71-134

T4. Nate Yankovich 68-66-134

T4. Michael Davan 67-67-134

T7. Zach Wright 68-67-135

T7. Brian Richey 67-68-135

T7. Peter Creighton 68-67-135

T7. Carson Schaake 68-67-135

T11. Brandon Crick 69-67-136

T11. Tim Crouch 69-67-136

T13. Wes Gosselin 66-71-137

T13. Conner Godsey 72-65-137

T13. Jay Monahan 70-67-137

T13. Derek Lamely 70-67-137

T13. Austin Quick 69-68-137

T13. Andy Winings 70-67-137

T19. Clay Devers 68-70-138

T19. Jordan Elsen 72-66-138

T19. Kyle Kochevar 69-69-138

T19. David Cooke 67-71-138

T19. Spence Fulford 68-70-138

T19. Emerson Newsome 66-72-138

T19. Craig Isabel 69-69-138

T26. Anthony Maccaqlia 68-71-139

T26. Brad Hopfinger 71-68-139

T26. Michael Balcar 69-70-139

T26. David Rose 66-73-139

T26. Edward Olson 70-69-139

T26. Cole Wilcox 73-66-139

T26. Michael Cromie 69-70-139

T26. McCormick Clouser 70-69-139

T26. Jared Bettcher 68-71-139

T26. Brian Bullington 73-66-139

T26. Bobby Taggart 70-69-139

T37. Joshua Manske 74-66-140

T37. Matt Mankin 70-70-140

T37. Steve Friesen 70-70-140

T37. Michael Keller 71-69-140

T37. Britt Pavelonis 69-71-140

T37. Austin Jordan 71-69-140

T37. Nathan Stamey 69-71-140

T37. Eric Steger 72-68-140

T37. Josh Butterfield 69-71-140

T37. Greg O'Mahony 70-70-140

T47. Travis Kreiter 73-68-141

T47. Chris Black 67-74-141

T47. Matthew Jennings 72-69-141

T47. Cody Strang 70-71-141

T47. Richie Schembechler 71-70-141

T47. Calvin Freeman 71-70-141

T47. Joshua Udelhofen 72-69-141

T47. Zach Gaugert 70-71-141

T47. Kurt Slattery 71-70-141

T47. Jake Tucker 73-68-141

MISSED CUT (excluding amateurs)

T57. William Bruyeres (a) 68-74-142

T57. Sean Busch 68-74-142

T57. Steven Ihm 71-71-142

T57. Luke Vivolo 69-73-142

T57. Luke Slaymaker 72-70-142

T57. Hunter O'Mahony 70-72-142

T57. Jeffery Kellen 72-70-142

T57. Donald Constable 73-69-142

T65. Ben Wollam 71-72-143

T65. Chris French 72-71-143

T65. Brian Coe 69-74-143

T65. Casey Fernandez 69-74-143

T65. Andy Buege 75-68-143

T65. Paul Apyan 68-75-143

T65. Brad Benjamin 75-68-143

T72. James Hall 72-72-144

T72. Ian Boat 72-72-144

T72. Matt Junge (a) 78-66-144

T72. Richard Hearden 71-73-144

T72. Matt Lee 68-76-144

T72. Jon Jozefowski 72-72-144

T72. Ryan Pierson 72-72-144

T72. Kevin Flack 72-72-144

T72. Weston Payne 76-68-144

T72. Nicholas Grubrich 70-74-144

T72. Andrew Wood (a) 77-67-144

T72. Max Thrune (a) 75-69-144

T72. Luke McClellan 67-77-144

T85. Jonathan Fly 74-71-145

T85. Jake Byrum 72-73-145

T85. Justin Regier 75-70-145

T85. Brett Walker 69-76-145

T85. Kyle Driscoll 75-70-145

T85. Andrew Steinhofer 67-78-145

T85. Taylor Koser 75-70-145

T85. Matt Fry 75-70-145

T93. Korey Smith 70-76-146

T93. Zachary Hammerberg 71-75-146

T93. Jake Sevcik (a) 74-72-146

T96. David Tepe 70-77-147

T96. Brent Quade 75-72-147

T96. Jeff Evanier 73-74-147

T99. Chuck Moran 75-73-148

T99. Kevin Ault (a) 71-77-148

T99. Spencer Mollon 78-70-148

T99. Jacob O'Keefe 73-75-148

T99. Erik Hallberg 77-71-148

T104. Rob Dickerman (a) 78-71-149

T104. Eddie Doyle (a) 73-76-149

T104. Alex Blickle 75-74-149

T104. Tyler Smith 74-75-149

T104. Brad Karpick (a) 74-75-149

T104. Blanton Farmer 73-76-149

T104. JD Goodfellow (a) 75-74-149

T111. Collin Neeman 75-75-150

T111. Jonathan Tink 75-75-150

T111. Adam Babb 73-77-150

T111. David Narveson 75-75-150

T111. Ryan Sperry 75-75-150

T116. Joseph Juszczyk 74-77-151

T116. Justin Metzger 72-79-151

T116. Jordan Even (a) 77-74-151

T116. Ryan Schrimper 74-77-151

T116. Logan Holt 76-75-151

T116. Tim Tynan 78-73-151

T122. JD Schlotterback 78-74-152

T122. Travis England 73-79-152

T122. Brett Porter 74-78-152

T122. Ian Johnston (a) 72-80-152

T126. Tim Owers 75-78-153

T126. Marshall Gavre 79-74-153

T126. Michael Greene 76-77-153

T126. Zack Wax 75-78-153

T126. Charles Hahn 75-78-153

T126. Cole Yearling (a) 74-79-153

T126. James Tisdale 77-76-153

T133. Michael Dominick 80-74-154

T133. Kyle Thomas 78-76-154

135. Nile Happel (a) 77-78-155

136. Pedro Velasco Curto (a) 80-77-157

137. Jonah Beman (a) 79-79-158

138. Blake Jens 81-79-160

T139. Brent Larson (a) 79-84-163

T139. Jack Recker (a) 81-82-163

141. Brian Schiltz (a) 84-81-165

T142. Marc Woodcok 83-83-166

T142. Jordan Caviness (a) 90-76-166

144. Mark Lemon 85-82-167

145. Dan Bailey (a) 91-79-170

146. Matt Roling (a) 87-94-181

147. Carter Fredrickson (a) 90-92-182

148. Jeremy Jennissen (a) 96-91-187

149. Gary Hallberg 72-WD
150. Robb Taylor 79-WD

Note-

Third round begins at 7 a.m.

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com