McCarthy, Points share second-round lead

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COLLINGWOOD, ONTARIO, Canada -- On a perfect scoring day in Canada, Americans Kyle McCarthy and D.A. Points moved one shot clear of the field as they head into the weekend at the inaugural Ford Wayne Gretzky Classic presented by Samsung, and they're having fun.

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D.A. Points had 10 birdies and 8 pars on Friday.

"Today is one of the few days where you get to walk off the course and say yes to the question 'did you have fun today?," said Points, an Ocoee, Fla., resident, as he signed his scorecard at Raven Golf Club for a 62 (-10) and a two day total of 131 (-12). The three-time Nationwide Tour winner had 10 birdies and 8 pars.

"Anytime you have more birdies than pars in a round is a good thing, but I wouldn't be a professional if I didn't say I left a couple out there. And I did, I only made one putt outside of 10 feet all day, the rest were all pretty close," said Points. Tying his career-low round of 10-under, Points knew it was going to take something special to get back into contention.

"Before I came out here today I knew the scores were going to be low," said Points, currently No. 34 on the money list. "The wind wasn't blowing and the course isn't overly demanding, I'm not saying the course is easy because there are definitely great tough holes out here, but it won't beat you up."

It's obvious Points likes the Raven Golf Club having played as well as he did, saying, "I like this course the best, and I felt that way before I shot 62. Georgian Bay is kind of wide open off the tee, which is sometimes tough because when it's that wide open it's tougher to focus on what you want to do with the ball. Out here you have to shape it a little bit and maneuver your tee ball around some sand traps and hills, which is good for me because it makes me focus on what kind of shot I have to hit."

Kyle McCarthy, a Gulfport, Fla., resident who got in as an alternate, said, "I had a fun, enjoyable day out there today," after posting a stellar bogey free 65 (-7). Also playing Raven Golf Club, McCarthy took advantage of the five par-5s by making three birdies and an eagle.

"I eagled No. 6 from the right rough, kind of lucky actually," said McCarthy. "I hit my tee ball a bit right in the rough and thought I could hit the 3-wood up there close on the right hand side of the green where there was a gap and I thought to myself 'if I pull this it's going to go right at it.' Well it came out left like I had anticipated and ended up going into the bunker just short of the green, it rolled through the bunker and rough to curl up there about 12 feet."

"My main goal at the beginning of the year was to finish in the top-60 on the money list so I could have status on the Nationwide Tour," said McCarthy, No. 198 on the money list. "I've only been able to play four tournaments this year because I don't have status out here. A win here would certainly grant me that for this year and the next, and it would also put me in good position to finish inside THE 25. That may not have been my goal at the beginning of the year but, hey, goals change."

Two-time first-team All-American at Oklahoma State Chris Tidland, first-round leader Aron Price, Argentine Sebastian Fernandez, 2003 U.S. Amateur runner-up Casey Wittenberg and Tennessee Volunteer Gibby Gilbert III are at 11-under. In all, there are 19 players within three strokes of the leaders.

Second Round News & Notes: The cut came at 138 (-5) with 72 players advancing to the weekend...Due to forecasted weather on Saturday, third-round starting times will run from 8:00 a.m until 10:10 a.m., with threesomes off of split tees...Kyle Reifers and Tom Turner lead the team competition after carding another 14-under round, three strokes ahead of Colt Knost and Brett Hull... Other team scores of note: Canadian Bryan DeCorso and Janet Gretzky (-22), Wayne Gretzky and David Hearn (-16), NBA Hall of Famer and TNT analyst Charles Barkley and Craig Bowden (-6) ... Second-round scoring averages: par-71 Georgian Bay Club (70.051), par-72 Raven Golf Club at Lora Bay (68.709).