Humboldt’s Paul Raycroft used his home course to his advantage, shooting an 8-under 64 in round two of the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship Wednesday.
Being played at his home course, the Humboldt Golf Club, Raycroft jumped nine spots up the leaderboard, overtaking day one leader Corey Bailey by a shot. Bailey also carded a 64 on the first day of the championships. The Swift Current product shot 1-under 71 on Wednesday to fend off three other players tied for third overall.
Raycroft leads both the amateur and mid-amateur championships at 10-under par, and Bailey is at 9-under. At the same time, Lucas Sturgeon, Alex Swinnerton, and Luke Cote are tied at 5-under par going into round three on Thursday.
Mitch Matichuk of Regina is third in the mid-amateur category for players 25 years of age and older. He is at 2-under par.
The mid-amateur will conclude on Thursday after 54 holes. The men’s amateur title will be decided after the fourth round on Friday. The top 20 players and ties will move on to round four.
In the Women’s Amateur Championships, Chloe Wills of Kyle, Sask., remains in the lead through two of three rounds, but Ella Kozak of Yorkton has closed the gap from four shots to two going into Thursday’s third and final round at the Humboldt Golf Club.
Wills opened the event with a 3-under par 70 on Tuesday. In the second round, she posted a 1-over 73. Kozak shot 74 and 72 over the first two rounds.
Mid-Amateur Women’s leader Charmaine Hayden of Winnipeg is third in the amateur division.
Holly Knudsen of Chaplin, Sask. and Tayla Parry of Regina are tied for fourth overall, 11 shots back of the lead. Hayden is at 8-over par through 36 of 54 holes.
Both women’s championships will conclude Thursday afternoon.
