Michael Gligic maintains two-stroke lead at Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance

Entering Friday’s second round as the outright 18-hole leader, Canadian Michael Gligic maintained a two-stroke lead on the field as he followed an 8-under 64 with a 6-under 66 to remain atop the leaderboard through two rounds of the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance.

Gligic’s 66 took him to 14-under par through 36 holes, putting him two strokes ahead of a trio of players – Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Byeong Hun An and Will Gordon – in a three-way T2 at 12-under par.

“It feels good,” Gligic said. “Everyone wants to be in this position going into the week and here we are. Hopefully we can make the best of it.”

Gligic’s day started on the front nine at Victoria National Golf Club, as he parred the first and bogeyed the par-4 second for the only blemish on his scorecard. The 32-year-old immediately bounced back with a birdie at the 578-yard par-5 third, which tied for the toughest hole relative to par in the second round. Gligic added two more birdies on the front (Nos. 7, 9) and four on the back (Nos. 10, 14-16).

“Another good day with just lots of fairways and greens,” Gligic said. “I’m giving myself good looks and kept the ball in play. Out here, it’s pretty treacherous if you get wayward. I’ve been fortunate to hit good quality shots and to see some putts go in.”

Gligic turned professional in 2008 and played predominantly on PGA TOUR Canada, winning in 2012 and continuing to play on his home country’s circuit until 2019, when he earned Korn Ferry Tour membership. In his first full season on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2019, Gligic won The Panama Championship and ended the regular season as a member of The 25 for his first PGA TOUR card.

Gligic finished outside the FedExCup Playoffs each of the last three seasons on the PGA TOUR. Gligic as No. 135 on the 2021-22 FedExCup Eligibility Points List, sending him to Korn Ferry Tour Finals for a second consecutive year. Last year, he closed the three-event Finals with back-to-back top-20s, including a T20 at the Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance, to secure a place in The Finals 25.

Gligic finished solo-fourth at last week’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship, ensuring himself a spot in The Finals 25 for a second consecutive year.

Scoring was relatively low all day at Victoria National, as both four-time PGA TOUR winner Camilo Villegas and PGA TOUR winner Ben Martin broke the course record with matching 10-under 62s. The previous record of 9-under 63 was established by Sebastián Vázquez (2016), Chris Baker (2019), and Trey Mullinax (2021).

Third-round tee times will run from 7:05 a.m. through 9:05 a.m. local time off the first and tenth tees.

Second-Round Notes

• The cut was made at 2-under par with 76 players advancing to the weekend
• 15 players who earned their PGA TOUR cards through the Regular Season Points List survived the 36-hole cut, and all eight players who secured their card through the Finals also advanced to the weekend
• Michael Gligic (1st / -14) holds the second 36-hole lead of his career, with the first being earlier this season at the PGA TOUR’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he eventually finished T36
• Kiradech Aphibarnrat (T2 / -12) holds his highest 36-hole position in any PGA TOUR-sanctioned event, with his previous best being T3 at the 2013 CIMB Classic (finished T3) and 2017 World Golf Championship – HSBC Champions (finished T24)
• Will Gordon (T2 / -12) has carded a field-leading 17 birdies this week, while Camilo Villegas (T2 / -12) is tied for the field lead in total birdies with 17 (one eagle, 16 birdies)
• Gordon projects to maintain his No. 1 position in The Finals 25 points race, which awards fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season and an exemption into the 2023 PLAYERS Championship
• Carl Yuan (T13 / -8) projects to pass Paul Haley II (T49 / -3) for the No. 1 spot in the season-long points race, which awards fully exempt status for the 2022-23 PGA TOUR season, an exemption into the 2023 PLAYERS Championship and, for the first time in history, an exemption into the 2023 U.S. Open
• The Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance is the third and final tournament of the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals, in addition to being the 26th and final event of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season
• The Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance is the third and final tournament of the three-event Korn Ferry Tour Finals, in addition to being the 26th and final event of the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour season
• The Finals 25 will be determined following the conclusion of Sunday’s final round, with PGA TOUR cards being awarded to each member of The Finals 25
• This week’s purse is $1,000,000, with $180,000 going to the champion; the champion will also receive 1,000 Korn Ferry Tour points
  • Next season’s Korn Ferry Tour Finals events will feature minimum purses of $1,500,000

 

Second-Round Course Statistics

• Scoring Average (Total – Par 72): 70.427 [-1.573]
• Scoring Average (Front Nine): 35.260 [-0.740]
• Scoring Average (Back Nine): 35.168 [-0.832]
• Toughest Holes: No. 17, Par 4, 454 yards – 4.191 [+0.191]; No. 3, Par 5, 578 yards – 5.191 [+0.191]
• Easiest Hole: No. 15, Par 5, 548 yards – 4.374 [-0.626]

 

Leaderboard

Pos.	Name	Scores
1	Michael Gligic	64-66—130 (-14)
T2	Kiradech Aphibarnrat	67-65—132 (-12)
	Byeong Hun An	67-65—132 (-12)
	Will Gordon	66-66—132 (-12)
T5	Austin Eckroat	68-65—133 (-11)
	Camilo Villegas	71-62—133 (-11)