Gordon Neale of Trabuco Canyon shot 7-under-par 64 and took a two-stroke lead over Sam Burns of Shreveport, La., after two rounds in the Boys Division of the 39th Junior PGA Championship at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas.
Neale, who was born in South Africa and moved to California with his family when he was 2, began his round with five consecutive birdies before carding his only bogey of the day at No. 6, and added three birdies on the last five holes.
“Yesterday, I was pretty concerned with the state of my game; I wasn’t playing well,” said Neale, a senior at Tesoro High who had a first-round 72. “I was feeling a lot better about my game heading into this round and after five birdies, it settled things down a lot.”
Jacob Solomon of Dublin carded a 71 and was tied for fifth, and Louie Chen of Fremont bounced back from an opening 80 with a 69 and was tied for 40th.
In the Girls Division, Ellen Takada of Irvine posted a 64 climbed to a tie for fourth that included Bethany Yu of Diamond Bar, who recorded a 69.
Robynn Ree of Redondo Beach was tied for seventh after a 71, Michelle Xie of Palo Alto shot 69 and was tied for 27th, and Elizabeth Wang of San Marino came in at 73 and was tied for 27th.
Kristen Gilman of Austin, Texas, had a three-shot lead in the Girls Division after a second straight 66.
