COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. – All progress takes place outside the comfort zone.

Those were the words Austin Smotherman wrote in his yardage book Friday, a nod to the fact he’d only held a share of an 18-hole lead once in three years on the Korn Ferry Tour. A relatively stress-free 3-under 69 in the second round gave Smotherman the second 36-hole lead of his career, pushing him one stroke ahead of University of Tennessee-Chattanooga alum Stephan Jaeger at the Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation.

Smotherman knocked a 135-yard approach shot to three feet and tapped in for birdie on his opening hole, the par-4 10th. A bogey at the 12th brought him back to even, but birdies at the 14th and 18th took him to 9-under for the tournament and into a tie for first place with Jaeger. Much like Thursday’s opening round, a scrambling par (this time at No. 1) kept the momentum going.

The Loomis, California native hit a toe hook off the tee and found tree trouble up the left side. After a flop-cut 8-iron came up 35 yards short of the flag, Smotherman pitched up the slope in an attempt to salvage a four. It did not roll it far enough. Well, not far enough forward.

“I hit this low skipper that gets to the top of the hill and starts trickling down,” Smotherman said. “I took out my putter, fixed my pitch mark, walked around the green, and my ball is still rolling. I ended up on the fringe, almost in a sprinkler head. We’re playing the ball up, so I got to move it closer to the green on the fringe edge at about 45 feet. At this point, I’m thinking auto five. And it ends up going in. Unreal putt, breaking six feet up the hill. I was blown away that putt went in.”

Smotherman’s unlikely par at No. 1 was the first of seven in a row. The streak was not due to a lack of quality birdie looks, though. Putt after putt from 6-8 feet rolled toward the edge of the cup and dove off at the last moment. Finally, Smotherman poured in a 15-footer for birdie at the par-4 8th, The Grove’s third-toughest hole Friday, and took sole possession of the lead at 10-under par.

“I was not trying to make a three,” Smotherman said. “I think I started walking after it just begging it to go in.”

Smotherman, who played collegiately at Southern Methodist University, has just one bogey through 36 holes, a feat accomplished by only one other player this week. He is also tied for the lead in greens in regulation (29 of 36) and tied for second in fairways hit (26 of 28).

Given the fact the only other 36-hole lead of his career was at last July’s TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks (he eventually finished solo fourth), Smotherman knows there will be nerves as he plays alongside Jaeger in Saturday’s final pairing.

Smotherman isn’t worried, though. His trusty yardage book will be right in his back pocket.

“If you get uncomfortable out there, it’ll settle you down,” Smotherman said. “Just embracing it… enjoy it. Why not?”

Friday’s other prominent storyline was 17-year-old amateur Cameron Tankersley. The Dickson County (Tenn.) High School junior made three consecutive birdies on Nos. 15-17 and parred his final hole, the par-5 18th, to move to 1-under par for the tournament and safely make the 36-hole cut.

Tankersley got off to a double bogey-birdie-double bogey start, but made two more birdies and a bogey to turn at 2-over par. He shot a bogey-free 3-under 33 on the back nine.

“It was a lot of fun the last couple holes,” Tankersley said. “The last four holes, I don’t know what was going on. I was just out there playing, just being myself. I loved every minute of it.”

Third-round pairings will run from 6:40 a.m. to 1:05 p.m. local time Saturday off the first tee.