Anderson drains three eagles, secures 36-hole lead in Peru

LIMA, Peru—Samuel Anderson jumped up the leaderboard on Friday, securing the top spot after carding three eagles in the second round of the Diners Club Peru Open. The University of Wisconsin graduate shot an 8-under 64 to place himself in a comfortable position heading into moving day with a three-stroke lead on his next-closest competitor American Daniel Hudson. Both were tied in sixth at 4-under after day one, however, the former Badger jumped out hot during his morning round, going 9-under in his first 12 holes and finishing in the top position, at 12-under at the Los Inkas Golf Club in Lima.

“I got off to a nice start,” Anderson understated. “I knew right about where I was at. I was playing nice. I was 9-under through 12, but I knew right after that (hole No. 3) there’s some pretty difficult holes in that corner with the wind swirling. I knew if I could just get through there with some nice looks at birdie or some nice pars, I would be fine. I was focused on that. I wasn’t really thinking about my score a whole lot.”

Anderson may have been the only one not focusing on his score. His three eagles in one round was a first this season. The last time came at this same event, by 2021-22 Totalplay Cup winner Mitchell Meissner. In addition, Anderson was close to breaking the course record of 63. Current PGA TOUR player Justin Suh last shot a 63 in this event, in 2019.

And while he may not have been focused on his score, many players nearing the cutline were hyper-aware of where they stood. The cut came at 1-under, with 62 players making it into the weekend. Thursday’s first-round leader, Agustin Errazuriz, of Chile, was one of those players who won’t be seeing action this weekend. After a strong start, carding a 6-under 66 in his first round, Errazuriz shot a 7-over 79 in his second to finish 1-over.

On the flip side, however, Jake McCrory, winner of this season’s Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational, jumped 80 positions up the leaderboard from his first round, 2-over 74 and a tie for 90th into a tie for 10th after his second round. His 7-under 65 Friday marked a nine-stroke improvement.

“Yeah, today’s round was pretty solid, especially after [Thursday’s] round,” McCrory said. “I knew it would be a tougher day today, condition-wise, but I worked on my putting this morning and just tried to keep it simple. I tried not to overthink. I made a lot of putts and made it look pretty easy, but it was a grind.”

McCrory, with one victory under his belt, is another competitor eyeing that top spot on the Totalplay Cup points list. He and Charlie Hillier are the only two 2022-23 tournament winners in this week’s field. Hillier won the last event, the JHSF Brazil Open and was the first—and only—wire-to-wire winner of the season. Hillier opened this tournament with a 2-under 70, but following a second-round 78, he also has missed the cut.

Did you know Charlie Hillier’s younger brother, Harry, also shot a 2-under 70 in the first round of the Diners Club Peru Open on Thursday? Harry currently sits at 3-under and is tied for 29th. Growing up in New Zealand, the Hillier brothers both attended the University of Kansas. The duo played two seasons together, starting in 2017-18. With his recent victory and one other top-10 finish (tied for fourth at the Roberto De Vicenzo Memorial 100 Years), Charlie is currently in second place in of the Totalplay Cup Points list, with 699 points. Harry is 73rd.

Key Information

There were 14 Peruvians competing this week in their national open. Luis Fernando Barco leads the way. After his first-round 73, Barco shot a 2-under 70 in the second round to jump 30 positions in the standings and finish just above the cut, at 1-under par. He is the only Peruvian to make the cut.

Although he missed the cut, Barrett Kelpin made the seventh hole-in-one of the season. He aced his 15th hole of the day—No. 6 The others came from Mauro Baez Julien (Visa Argentina Open), Nicolás Geyger and BeauBreault (Scotia Wealth Management Chile Open). ChandlerBlanchet (Termas De Rio Hondo Invitational) and BlakeAbercrombie and RafaelBecker (JHSF Brazil Open.

There were four past Peru Open tournament winners in this week’s field, with Argentina’s Leandro Marelli the most recent. Marelli, the 2019 champion, enters the week ranked 10th in the Totalplay Cup standings and is currently sitting at 2-under 142 and tied for 36th. The other past winners who are back this week are Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubón, who claimed the 2015 title and is also at 2-under after two rounds, Argentina’s Julián Etulain, who won his first of back-to-back titles 10 years ago, and Oklahoma native Charlie Saxon, who went bogey-free for his 54-hole win in 2017. Unfortunately, Etulain and Saxon did not make the cut after today’s round, finishing 1-over and 2-over, respectively.

Quotable

“Days like today, you hit some good shots and you make some putts, but you get some good lies out there, as well, so you get some good numbers. I’m fortunate to have had all of the cards line up today.” – Samuel Anderson

“I pitched it nice. I just gave myself a lot of looks and made some putts. I made a putt from on the edge of the green on No. 14 for eagle. The first pitch-in I made was on No. 16. I actually hit a 3-wood over the green and chipped in. Then, I chipped in on No. 3 for eagle, as well. It was a fun round, and I hit some nice shots.” – Samuel Anderson

"Shoot the ball in the fairway here and give yourself looks and you can shoot a pretty good score. If you are hitting from the rough, it’s not going to be all that easy, so hit the fairway and go from there.” – Samuel Anderson

“I’m looking forward to this weekend. I love Peru. We have a great set up this week, and I’m staying with some friends and keeping it light. I love Lima. It’s a great city to come to regardless of if you are playing golf or not and regardless of if you are playing well or not. But it’s even sweeter if you are playing well.”– Samuel Anderson

“I played nicely today. I drove the ball really well. Made a couple eagles, which was really nice. Both of those holes, if you hit a good tee shot then it’s pretty easy hole. I made a nice 50-foot putt for the first eagle and a tap-in for the next. All in all, I played solid today. Had some good par saves as well. – Conner Godsey on his strong, second-round play

“Finishing in the top five of the points list is why we are down here. Every week is a great opportunity. A win goes a long way. Take it one shot at a time and see what happens.” – Connor Godsey

“We are all so competitive. It’s really hard to win on this Tour. I’ve played well this year, which builds confidence. I’ve won out here before, so I know I can do it again. I just have to be patient with it.” – Connor Godsey on his three top-10s this season

“I was a little into the wind, I hit a little flighted 7-iron, and it landed and rolled out perfect straight into the hole. It was really fun. The group had a good time with it, so it was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since I’ve had one, and I don’t know if I’ve ever had one in competition, so it was great. I think I’ve had six total, but never one in a tournament, so this one was extra special.” – Barrett Kelpin on his hole-in-one on No. 6, his 15th hole of the day

Second-Round Weather: Mostly cloudy, early with clouds clearing by midday. High of 82. Wind SSW at 3-9 mph, with gusts to 17 mph.