Luke Guthrie takes two-stroke lead at KC Golf Classic
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Despite not getting into the field until Monday morning (as an alternate), Luke Guthrie carded a second-round 67 to reach 8 under for the tournament and claim a two-stroke lead at the halfway point of the KC Golf Classic.
“I hit it really well yesterday, but today I actually did not drive it well at all,” said Guthrie, who hit eight of 14 fairways on Friday. “I was in the rough all day long. But I got out of trouble when I had to, took advantage with some good iron shots and putted really well on the back nine.”
Guthrie birdied Nos. 3 and 6, offset by a bogey at 4, to make the turn at 1 under and 4 under for the tournament. After three pars, the 29-year-old jumpstarted his round with an eagle at the par-5 13th before adding birdies on Nos. 15 and 17 on the way in.
“It was 271 yards to the hole,” said Guthrie of his shot into No. 13. “I think that might have been the only fairway I hit with my driver all day. I hit it off the right wind, a perfect 3-wood, and put it right in the middle of the green short of the shelf. I made a nice double-breaking putt right in the heart. After that I hit some really nice shots on the way in.”
Coming off a T56 finish last week in Nashville, Guthrie learned he had gotten into the field on Monday morning after he had already driven to visit his in-laws following the final round on Sunday. He drove six hours on Sunday evening to Bloomington, Illinois, and drove six more to Kansas City on Monday morning to Blue Hills Country Club, stopping on the way to eat pizza with his grandma in Quincy, Illinois.
Even after the late entry and an up-and-down year, Guthrie felt extremely comfortable at Blue Hills, a unique layout with tight, tree-lined fairways and thick rough.
“I grew up in this bluegrass rough,” said Guthrie. “We play a lot of events in the south with Bermuda rough and that can give me a few more problems. I can’t judge lies quite as well. I grew up on bluegrass rough so I feel a little more comfortable getting up and down around the greens.”
Guthrie, a University of Illinois alum, is playing in only his fourth Web.com Tour event of the year after beginning the season with conditional status. He missed his first two cuts before posting a T56 last week in Nashville. Guthrie earned his PGA TOUR card through the Web.com Tour in 2012 despite only playing in 10 events. In those 10 tournaments, Guthrie posted two wins, a runner-up and four additional top-10 finishes. That stretch included a T6 at the 2012 KC Golf Classic. He also posted a T2 finish at the 2017 KC Golf Classic held at Nicklaus Golf Club at LionsGate.
Tim Wilkinson and Michael Gellerman are T2 after 36 holes at 6-under 138. Wilkinson posted a 5-under 67 on Friday behind a stretch of four birdies in six holes from Nos. 11-16. The 40-year-old New Zealand native is seeking his third top-10 of the year. Gellerman, a University of Oklahoma alum, is seeking his third consecutive top-30 finish. The 26-year-old posted three consecutive birdies on Nos. 18, 1 and 2 on his way to a Friday 67.
