Kyle Westmoreland leads by one at UNC Health Championship

Things to Know

United States Air Force veteran Kyle Westmoreland earns his first outright 36-hole lead on the Korn Ferry Tour

Jorge Fernández Valdés cards a 64 to match his lowest round of the season and claim solo second

Raleigh native Grayson Murray sits two shots off the lead, bidding for his third ever top-10 finish in this event

Tim Widing, who entered the day T120, records the low round of the day with a 7-under 63 and climbs to T22

The 36-hole cut was made at 1-under par, with 66 professionals advancing to the weekend

Third-round pairings will run from 7:20 a.m. through 12:55 p.m. off the first tee

Second-Round Lead Notes

8: Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH

- Davis Thompson (2022), Mito Pereira (2020), Kyle Thompson (2015), Chesson Hadley (2013),
John Riegger (2010), Kyle Thompson (2007), John Maginnes (2001), Michael Christie (1995)

1: Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2023

- David Skinns – Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club

Kyle Westmoreland (Leader / -11)

Entered the day as a 18-hole co-leader and clinched the solo 36-hole lead after carding a 4-under 66 Friday

Tallied seven second-round birdies (Nos. 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 12, 14) against three bogeys at Nos. 4, 7, and 11

Marks the first outright lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career (making 33rd start on the Tour this week)

Previous best 36-hole position in a Korn Ferry Tour start was T3, achieved two times last season (Live and Work in Maine and AdventHealth Championship)

Opened the week with a career low 7-under 63 made up of one eagle, six birdies and one bogey

Previous career low round was a 64 in the second round of the 2022 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

This week’s 36-hole score of 129 ties his career best, which he also set in Wichita last year (65-64–129)

Making his first Korn Ferry Tour start of the year this week as he has primarily played on the PGA TOUR this season

In 19 starts on TOUR in the 2022-23 season, has logged five made cuts with the best finish being a T27 at the Cadence Bank Houston Open

Earned his first PGA TOUR card via the 2022 Korn Ferry Tour Finals, finishing as the No. 25-ranked player within the group of 25 players awarded TOUR cards

In the 2022 regular season, Westmoreland made 26 Korn Ferry Tour starts and finished No. 60 on the Regular Season Points List to earn a place in the Korn Ferry Tour Finals

Logged six top-25 finishes on the Tour last season, including three top 10s, with his best finish being solo seventh at the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open Benefitting KU Wichita Pediatrics

By earning PGA TOUR membership through Korn Ferry Tour Finals, he became the first Air Force Academy graduate to earn a TOUR card

While playing collegiately at Air Force from 2010-14, he tallied five individual victories

Following graduation from the Academy in 2014, served a five-year term and attained the rank of captain in the United States Air Force

Lives in Charleston, South Carolina, roughly a four-hour drive from Raleigh

Quotables

Kyle Westmoreland on why he thinks he’s played so well through two rounds… “I think I've been working on my short game a lot, so spending a lot of time chipping and putting. I've been pretty humbled out on the PGA TOUR so far this year and I want to get better at those two aspects. Spent a lot of time at it and I think it's coming to fruition this week.”

Westmoreland on what he’d like to improve on this weekend… “I want to drive it a little bit better. It was a little bit off today, hit one out of bounds today. Really shouldn't take that on this golf course. But just want to keep doing what I'm doing, keep focusing on the short game and trying to get efficient with the game, try and be a little bit better off the tee and see if we can compete into the weekend.”

Westmoreland on what a win would mean to him… “Oh, it would be awesome. I don't care what tour you're on, to win is a big deal. We're excited to be in the mix, get those juices flowing. Korn Ferry Tour, PGA TOUR, if you're playing good golf, you're playing good golf. Everyone can compete with everyone. It's just awesome to be out here.”

Jorge Fernández Valdés on his second-round 6-under 64… “I started my round hitting very well, giving myself chances in the first few holes. And yes, I played a very good front nine. Actually, I made an eagle on seven from 118 yards, which was awesome and really helped me to keep playing well. I think I hit it pretty good the whole round and gave myself a lot of chances at birdies. I think it was a really good day.”

Notes

Jorge Fernández Valdés (2nd / -10) shot a 6-under 64 with five birdies at Nos. 4, 5, 8, 14 and 17, as well as an eagle at the 467-yard par-4 No. 7 against one bogey; clinched the best front-nine score of the day with a 5-under 30

- Holed out from 118 yards on the par-4 seventh, the only eagle on that hole by any player this week

- Tied season low round of 64, which he carded in the second round of last week’s Visit Knoxville Open

- Recorded season best 36-hole score of 130 with rounds of 66-64

- Currently sitting 61st on the Points List, entered this week with four top-25 finishes in his last six starts

- Turned professional in 2012, playing on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica for two seasons before earning status on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2014

- Returned to PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in 2016 where he remained until regaining Korn Ferry Tour status this season by finishing No. 3 in the 2022 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica TotalPlay Cup standings

Raleigh native Grayson Murray (T3 / -9) follows his first-round 4-under 66 with a second-round 5-under 65 and sits inside the top 10 after 36 holes for the sixth time in his Korn Ferry Tour career (making 45th start on the Tour)

- Earned his second career Korn Ferry Tour victory two weeks ago at the AdventHealth Championship

- Making his seventh appearance in the UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH; he has two top-10 finishes in this event, a T10 in 2016 and T2 in 2019 when he tallied a final-round 9-under 61, his lowest round in a PGA TOUR-sanctioned start

Matt McCarty (T3 / -9), who held a share of the 18-hole lead with Westmoreland, carded a second-round 2-under 68 and sits inside the top five after 36 holes for the second consecutive week (T4 at last week’s Visit Knoxille Open)

- Opened with a first-round 7-under 63 that marked a new career low round

- Entered this week with four top-25 finishes in his last five starts (T10, T22, T17, MC, T23)

Josh Teater (T3 / -9) is inside the top 10 after 36 holes for the third time this season (T10 last week at the Visit Knoxville Open and T5 in The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay); this week marks his 163rd start on the Korn Ferry Tour; this week’s 36-hole score of 131 (64-67) marks his lowest this season

Making the 19th start of his Korn Ferry Tour career, Jacob Bridgeman (T6 / -7) sits inside in the top 10 after 36 holes for the third time (T5 at the 2023 Astara Golf Championship and T7 at the 2022 REX Hospital Open)

- In his second season on the Tour, Bridgeman originally earned Korn Ferry Tour membership last year after finishing No. 2 in the PGA TOUR University Class of 2022, only behind Texas' Pierceson Coody

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Trent Phillips (T6 / -7), who carded a career low 64 in the first round, tallied a 1-under 69 and is inside the top 10 after 36 holes for the first time in his young career

- Phillips made his professional debut in this event last season as a sponsor exemption but missed the cut after opening rounds of 68 and 74

Jeremy Paul (T6 / -7) records his lowest 36-hole score of the season (66-67–133) and finds himself in the top 10 after two rounds for the first time this year

- Currently sits 47th on the points list with one top 10 and four top-25 finishes in 11 starts this season

Joshua Creel (T6 / -7) cards a second-round 2-under 68 and enters the weekend in the top 10 for the second consecutive week after sitting T2 after the second round of last week’s Visit Knoxville Open

- Currently ranked No. 18 on the Points List, Tom Whitney (T6 / -7) moved up one spot on the leaderboard with a 2-under 68 today

The biggest leap on the leaderboard was by Tim Widing (T22 / -4), who recorded the low round of the day with a 7-under 63; jumped 98 positions after a first-round 1-over 73 placed him T120 entering Friday

- Tallied back-to-back eagles on the 337-yard par-4 ninth and 438-yard par-4 10th

University of North Carolina alum and Raleigh native Carter Jenkins (T48 / -1) birdied three of his final nine holes and made the cut on the number

Sponsor exemptions and amatuers Troy Taylor II (72-74–145) and Drew Salyers (69-76–145) each finished 6-over par after 36 holes and missed the cut