After tough start, Bjornstad bolts to the front in Virginia  PGA TOUR Staff GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- Henrik Bjornstad, a 27-year-old native of Oslo, Norway, posted the round of the day on Friday with a 7-under 65 to move into the top spot with just two rounds to play at the Nationwide Tour's Henrico County Open.  Henrik Bjornstad put together eight birdies and a single bogey Friday. (Stan Badz/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
At 9-under-par 135, Bjornstad holds a slim one-stroke cushion over four players -- Todd Demsey (65), Todd Fischer (66), Michael Letzig (66) and Nick Flanagan (66). "I played fantastic today," said Bjornstad, who hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "I'm driving it well, hitting my irons well and putting it really good." Bjornstad has had trouble out of the gate this week. He made a triple bogey on his first hole (No. 10) on Thursday and a bogey on the opening hole (No. 1) Friday -- but has more than made up for it with 13 birdies the rest of the way. "I had a rough start yesterday and another bogey on the first hole today," said Bjornstad. "But I didn't let those holes bother me because I knew I had a lot of good golf in my body. There is still a long way to go, but I'm just happy with how I've been playing." The 1996 Norwegian Amateur champion has made the cut in four of seven starts this season on the Nationwide Tour, with a tie for ninth at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship his best showing. He currently sits No. 39 on the money list, and has his sights set on joining The 25 and regaining his PGA TOUR status. He barely missed keeping at least conditional status on TOUR when he finished No. 152 during his rookie season in 2006. "I'm 39th on the money list so I'd like to have a few good tournaments and creep into the top 25 on the money list," said Bjornstad. "I'm just happy to be playing well. I've been searching for my game for over a year now. I had been thinking way too much about technique the last year. The last couple of weeks I just told myself I was going to feel comfortable over the ball and just swing it." Speaking of feeling comfortable over the ball, Demsey equaled the round of the day with a 7-under 65 of his own -- hitting nine of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "A lot of things went my way today," said Demsey. "I left a few out there believe it or not but a lot of putts did go in. I feel real good over the ball right now." Demsey is also seeking to join The 25, sitting No. 27 on the money list and also posting his best finish at the Livermore Valley Wine Country Championship, a tie for sixth. He has yet to miss a cut this season; he's the only player on Tour to make the cut in all eight tournaments. "I haven't been hitting it all that great lately, but I've been getting it around," said Demsey, a 34-year-old native of Ridgewood, N.J., and former college teammate of Phil Mickelson at Arizona State University. "My short game has been good all year. I knew if my ball-striking came around at some point I would do pretty well." Second-Round News & Notes: The cut came at 1-under-par 143 with 60 players advancing to the weekend ... The shot of the day was turned in by Chris Baryla with a hole-in-one at the par-3 ninth hole, hitting a 5-iron from 199 yards. It was the second ace of the week, as Mike Heinen had a hole-in-one on No. 11 during the opening round ... The second-round leader has gone on to win the Henrico County Open five times in 14 tries, most recently Daniel Chopra in 2004. So far this season, the leader after 36 holes has won three of seven tournaments ... The toughest hole on Friday was the par-4 eighth hole with a 4.497 average, while the par-5 second hole ranked as the easiest hole for the second straight day at 4.444 ... The second-round scoring average was 71.791, compared to 73.507 a year ago ... Neal Lancaster withdrew after nine holes on Friday with a back injury. Field changes prior to the start of the second round included a disqualification of Steven Bowditch for failing to make his tee time and a withdrawal by Grant Waite with a back injury. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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