Salisbury, NC – Former Nationwide Tour player and three-time U.S. Open participant Lee Williams (Alexander City, AL) got his 2010 season off to a slow start and decided to change instructors in March, hoping to re-capture some of the magic that made him one of the top-ranked amateurs in the world during his college years at Auburn University. Through two rounds of the eGolf Tour’s Bolle Classic, that magic seems to be re-appearing in the form of back-to-back rounds of 64 and a two-shot lead heading into the final 36 holes.

After posting a first-round 64 at tournament co-host Sapona Country Club (Lexington, NC) on Wednesday, Williams picked up right where he left off at the Country Club of Salisbury on Thursday with a bogey-free 64, thanks in part to some nice accuracy off the tee.

“I hit a lot of fairways today, which is what you have to do when the rough is up and the pins are tucked pretty good,” said Williams of the strategy involved on the Donald Ross-designed course. “The course was set up so that your distance control had to be good, thankfully mine was.”

With 13 birdies and an eagle through 36 holes of play, some of Williams’ best shots through the first two rounds were ones that saved par – not ones that aided more red numbers.

“I made good par putts on 17 and 18, which was huge. It’s so important to capitalize on not making a bogey at this level,” said the 28-year-old Williams. “The scores are low this week and you really can’t afford to make bogeys.”

When Williams finished his Auburn career in 2005, he wrapped up one of the more decorated amateur resumes of the early 2000s. A two-time member of the United States Walker Cup team (2003 and 2005), he would turn professional shortly after his second team stint and find immediate success on mini tours, winning over $150,000 in 2006 alone.

In 2007, his first full season on the Nationwide Tour, Williams made 11 of 17 cuts with his best finish coming at the National Mining Association Pete Dye Classic, a T7. In that season, he recorded four top-25 finishes and earned $57,019, in turn finishing 96^th on the tour’s money list. That finish would provide him with conditional status for the 2008 season, but five missed cuts in five starts that year would quickly relegate him to Monday qualifiers.

A slow train was building to switch instructors after working with his previous teacher for the better part of seven years. After fighting his swing early in the season, Williams made a move in March, hoping to capture his first win since the Alabama Open in 2008.

“I got off to a slow start this year, but then I made an instructor switch and that has really paid off,” he said. “I started working with Scott Hamilton of Cartersville (GA) Country Club and things just got better each week.”

Beginning with the tour’s Cowans Ford Open in early May, Williams put together a streak of 12 consecutive rounds under par, and in turn extended it to 14 with his opening two rounds this week. It was obvious that Hamilton was helping to bring back the stellar play Williams was accustomed to. Hamilton’s teaching theory, best known as the “Golf Machine,” focuses on teaching players the proper pivot, ball position and how to best keep the club on plane.

“He worked with some friends of mine, and when we got together, I really liked his plan for me,” said Williams of Hamilton, who has also worked with two-time PGA TOUR winner and former eGolf Tour player Jason Bohn.

His recent uptick in play almost netted him a spot in this week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links. Rounds of 76-69 at arduous Settindown Creek Golf Club in Roswell, GA left Williams three shots shy of his fourth career U.S. Open start (2005-2007) and as a second alternate from the site. While disappointed to not qualify, he quickly looked to the positive entering the week in Salisbury.

“I came real close to making it again this year, but this isn’t bad either. The courses are great this week,” said Williams. “I’d rather be playing somewhere than sitting at home watching it on the couch.”

Trailing Williams by two shots at the halfway point are South African Tyrone Mordt and first-round co-leader Cameron Yancey.

Mordt, who resides in Arlington, TX during the South African winter, has posted rounds of 67-63—130 to reach 12-under through 36 holes.

Making just his third start of the 2010 season, Mordt began his second round at Salisbury on the par-4 10^th and posted a somewhat average – given the scoring – opening nine of 2-under 34. On his closing nine, the course’s front, Mordt literally caught fire with six birdies in his final eight holes to post a 6-under 29. His round of 63 tied the day’s low score and moved him from a tie for 19^th into a tie for second.

In six career eGolf Tour starts, Mordt’s best finish is a tie for 22^nd, coming just three weeks ago at the tour’s Grand Harbor Open.

For Yancey, a first-round 63 put the former PGA TOUR player from Blackstone, VA in prime position to capture his first career eGolf Tour title. A traffic jam on I-85 just north of Charlotte put him in prime position to miss his second-round tee time after being tied for the 18-hole lead.

“I got about nine miles from the exit and my car just stopped,” said Yancey, who was staying just south of Sapona and encountered infamous Charlotte, NC road construction en route to the course. “My GPS showed me a back road and said I would be there at 12:32 for a 12:40 tee time. Man, I was going about 80 mph in and out of traffic trying to make it. Nothing would be worse than missing your tee time after leading the tournament.”

Luckily, the former University of Virginia standout arrived at the course with about 15 minutes to spare, and immediately walked into a second-round 67 to tie Mordt for second place.

 First-round co-leader Emmett Turner, 2007 British Amateur champion Drew Weaver, and former Nationwide Tour player Tommy Biershenk are tied for fourth at 11-under 131 through two rounds.

The 36-hole cut fell at 4-under 138, with 77 players making it through to the final two rounds. The third round of the Bolle Classic will begin at 8:00 AM at the Country Club of Salisbury on Friday, with players competing in threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge. 

Bolle Classic at Country Club of Salisbury (Par 71; 6,665 yards); Sapona Country Club (Par 71; 6,620 yards)  Second Round Results

1    Lee Williams         Alexander City, AL      64-64--128 -14

T2   Tyrone Mordt         Arlington, TX           67-63--130 -12

T2   Cameron Yancey       Blackstone, VA          63-67--130 -12

T4   Emmett Turner        Augusta, GA             63-68--131 -11

T4   Drew Weaver          High Point, NC          66-65--131 -11

T4   Tommy Biershenk      Boiling Springs, SC     68-63--131 -11

T7   Edward Loar          Dallas, TX              67-65--132 -10

T7   Adam Long            Lake Saint Louis, MO    67-65--132 -10

T7   Brian Duncan         Mount Pleasant, SC      67-65--132 -10

T7   David Robinson       Sandersville, GA        69-63--132 -10

T7   Ryan Linton          Pinehurst, NC           66-66--132 -10

T7   Aaron Goldberg       Encinitas, CA           66-66--132 -10

T13  Martin Ureta         Chapel Hill, NC         68-65--133 -9 

T13  Chris Thompson       Lawrence, KS            67-66--133 -9

T13  Scott Parel          Augusta, GA             69-64--133 -9 

T13  Andy Bare            West End, NC            67-66--133 -9 

T13  Matt Hendrix         Greenville, SC          66-67--133 -9 

T13  Adam Mitchell        Atlanta, GA             67-66--133 -9 

T13  Fernando Mechereffe  Charlotte, NC           67-66--133 -9 

T20  Brad Klapprott       Lakeland, FL            67-67--134 -8 

T20  Ben Duncan           Greenville, SC          64-70--134 -8 

T20  Peter Malnati        Dandridge, TN           68-66--134 -8 

T20  Tadd Fujikawa        Honolulu, HI            67-67--134 -8 

T20  Phillip Mollica      Anderson, SC            68-66--134 -8 

T20  Rob Grube            Palo Alto, CA           70-64--134 -8 

T20  Taylor Hall          LaGrange, GA            67-67--134 -8 

T20  Scott Weatherly      Fort Payne, AL          67-67--134 -8 

T20  Tommy Gibson         Pilot Mountain, NC      68-66--134 -8 

T20  Chesson Hadley       Raleigh, NC             65-69--134 -8 

T30  Grant Waite          Ocala, FL               69-66--135 -7 

T30  Matt McQuillan       Canada                  71-64--135 -7 

T30  Jonathan Turcott     Raleigh, NC             69-66--135 -7 

T30  Alex Wilson          Coral Gables, FL        71-64--135 -7 

T30 Blake Trimble        Rancho Santa Fe, CA     68-67--135 -7 

T35  Nathan Stamey        Bluffton, SC            65-71--136 -6 

T35  Paul Brown           Hartsville, SC          69-67--136 -6 

T35  Chase Carroll        Knoxville, TN           67-69--136 -6 

T35  Patton Kizzire       Tuscaloosa, AL          69-67--136 -6 

T35  Matt Hughes          Dalton, GA              72-64--136 -6 

T35  Fielding Brewbaker   Salem, VA               68-68--136 -6 

T35  Todd Murphy          Phoenix, AZ             69-67--136 -6 

T35  Matt Mincer          Knoxville, TN           67-69--136 -6 

T35  Ryan Dillon          Desert Hills, AZ        66-70--136 -6 

T35  Josh Sandman         High Point, NC          70-66--136 -6 

T45  David Sanchez        Pinehurst, NC           69-68--137 -5 

T45  Alex Coe             La Quinta, CA           70-67--137 -5 

T45  Russell Knox         Jacksonville Beach, FL  66-71--137 -5 

T45  Brian Harman         St. Simons Island, GA   70-67--137 -5 

T45  Billy Hurley         Annapolis, MD           66-71--137 -5 

T45  Jonathan Fricke      Covington, GA           69-68--137 -5 

T45  Wes Wall             Advance, NC             69-68--137 -5 

T45  Ryan Thornberry      Ceres, CA               68-69--137 -5 

T45  Ashdon Woods         Scottsdale, AZ          71-66--137 -5 

T45  Matt Hill            Ontario, Canada         67-70--137 -5 

T55  Derek Fathauer       Jensen Beach, FL        68-70--138 -4 

T55  Jason Schultz        Dallas, TX              70-68--138 -4 

T55  Tommy Schaff         Savannah, GA            68-70--138 -4 

T55  Reid Edstrom         Auburn, AL              71-67--138 -4 

T55  Doug Ferris          Hernando Beach, FL      70-68--138 -4 

T55  Wes Homan            Cincinnati, OH          67-71--138 -4 

T55  Matthew  Kohn        Altamonte Springs, FL   66-72--138 -4 

T55  Niall Turner         St. Paul, MN            72-66--138 -4 

T55  Ben Kern             Tuscon, AZ              71-67--138 -4 

T55  Samuel Cyr           San Diego, CA           72-66--138 -4 

T55  Dustin Groves        Chapel Hill, NC         70-68--138 -4 

T55  Jamie Hall           England                 66-72--138 -4 

T55  Ryan Vermeer         Lawrence, KS            70-68--138 -4 

T55  Dustin Bray          Charlotte, NC           68-70--138 -4 

T55  Matt Cannon          Statesville, NC         71-67--138 -4 

T55  Trevor Fisher        Arlington, TX           72-66--138 -4 

T55  Michael Henderson    Orlando, FL             69-69--138 -4 

T55  Jimmy Lytle          Ocean Ridge, FL         71-67--138 -4 

T55  Brad Doster          Winter Park, FL         72-66--138 -4 

T55  Raymond Franz        Mt. Pleasant, SC        66-72--138 -4 

T55  Scott Usher          Johns Island, SC        69-69--138 -4 

T55  Jeffrey Nieman       Maineville, OH          65-73--138 -4 

T55  Mike Walls           Greensboro, NC          70-68--138 -4