Jeff Overton extends his lead at the Magnit Championship

Things to Know

Following seven consecutive missed cuts, Jeff Overton is in position to hold the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career

Two-time Korn Ferry winner Paul Barjon cards bogey-free 7-under 65 to sit inside the top 5 after 36 holes for the second time this season

Korn Ferry Tour rookie Jacob Solomon is in line to hold the best 36-hole position of his career

Eight-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, Chan Kim posts 6-under 66 and sits inside the top 10 through 36 holes of a Korn Ferry Tour event for the fifth time in his 20 starts this season

Open qualifier Sudarshan Yellamaraju sits on the cut line with two holes remaining in his second round (would mark first made cut on Tour)

Second-Round Lead Notes

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

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

- Paul Barjon/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS

- Nicholas Lindheim/The Ascendant presented by Blue)

Jeff Overton (First/-11)

In position to extend his 18-hole lead with a 4-under 68 on Friday, totaling 11-under 133 for his first 36-hole lead/co-lead on the Korn Ferry Tour

Making his eighth start of the season via the Exempt Medical category, birdies three of his final four holes

- Five birdies came at two par 4s (Nos. 1,8), two par 3s (Nos.7,15) and one par 5 (No. 2) against one bogey at the par-4 second

Making eighth start of the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour season (missed cut in each of previous seven starts)

Turned professional in 2005 out of Indiana University, where he was the 2004-05 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year and the 2005 Big Ten Championship individual medalist

Earned PGA TOUR membership via T13 finish at 2005 PGA TOUR Q-School, advancing through all three stages in his first attempt to earn TOUR card for 2006

Has 297 career starts on the PGA TOUR, including four runner-up finishes and 2010 Ryder Cup appearance

Has held the 36-hole lead/co-lead four times on the PGA TOUR

- T1/2007 Wyndham Championship/finished T2

- T1/2008 Quicken Loans National/finished T9

- First/2008 Turning Stone Resort Championship/finished T10

- First/2010 The Greenbrier Classic/finished T9 · Overton returned to competitive golf last season after five years following complications from back surgery in 2017

Paul Barjon (T2/-10)

Matched the 18-hole tournament-scoring record and lowest round of the day with a bogey-free 7-under 65 on Friday

- Seven birdies came at four par 4s (Nos. 1, 9, 16, 17), two par 5s (No. 6, 14) and one par 3 (No. 7)

Marks the seventh time inside the top 5 after 36 holes in his Korn Ferry Tour career and second of the season (T1/Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS/won)

Currently ranked No. 34 on the Points List after recording a win and two other top-25 finishes in his 17 starts this season

With a win, Barjon would secure his place inside the top 30 come season’s end and lock up #TOURBound status

In his third full season on the Korn Ferry Tour after initially joining in 2017 and returning for the 2020-21 season

Has 15 top-25 finishes and eleven top-10s in 76 career Korn Ferry Tour starts, including two victories: 2023 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS and 2021 HomeTown Lenders Championship

Originally turned professional in 2016 after four seasons at Texas Christian University (2012-16), where he garnered All-America Third Team recognition and All-Big 12 Conference honors as a senior

Joined PGA TOUR Canada in 2016 and made 11 starts that season, finishing sixth on the Order of Merit with one victory, three top-10s and eight cuts made

In his 2017 rookie Korn Ferry Tour season, logged two top-10 finishes in 20 starts and returned to PGA TOUR Canada for the following two seasons; ultimately finished No. 1 on the 2019 Order of Merit to win the PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year Award and full Korn Ferry Tour status

During the 2020-21 Korn Ferry Tour season, logged seven top-10 finishes in 35 starts, highlighted by the aforementioned HomeTown Lenders Championship title, finishing the season No. 15 on the Points List to earn the first PGA TOUR card of his career

In lone season on TOUR, finished 171st in the final 2021-22 FedExCup Standings, resulting in a return to the Korn Ferry Tour this season

Quotables

Jeff Overton on his second round… “I was a little nervous definitely the first several holes, first couple few holes, but I was able to hang in there. Just drove it straight again and made a lot of putts. It's a good combination. It's nice to finally see the ball go in when you hit those putts, so hopefully we can keep it going.”

Overton on where the nerves came from… “It's been six or seven years since I've played even in the top -- I don't know, it was definitely just some new -- it was just new. I think that's normal for anybody a little bit after you have a good first round and sleep on it, have all day to think about it. But yeah, I mean, I kept it in -- I'm happy with everything.”

Paul Barjon on his bogey-free second round… “It was good, kind of everything clicked. Got a little windy. This morning I came back on 17 and hit what I thought it was a good shot and it was about 25 yards too short. So yeah, the wind kind of played tricks on us. Hit my mid, short irons pretty well, so that was fun.”

Barjon on how it feels to be in contention again this week… “Yeah, it feels great. It's always one of these things where you want to have a chance over the weekend if you make the cut on the number, and I guess these last few weeks you still have a chance because it's been pretty close to the leader, the cuts have been pretty low. Yeah, it's always nice to play the weekend, first of all, and have a chance to win. But we only played half of the event, so there's a long way.”

Notes

Five Korn Ferry Tour rookies currently stand inside the top six after 36 holes: Jacob Solomon (T2/-10), Brandon McIver (T4/-8), Wilson Furr (T6/-7), Wil Bateman (T6/-7) and Patrick Welch (T6/-7)

Solomon is in position to stand inside the top five after 36 holes for the second time this season (T4/Visit Knoxville Open/finished T23)

In his 21 starts (all this season), has four top-25 finishes highlighted by a T16 at the Club Car Championship at the Landings Golf and Athletic Club

- Qualified for the 2023 U.S. Open earlier this season and finished T60

McIver (T4/8) is in line to hold the best 36-hole position in his 18th start on Tour (previous T19 at the Utah Championship presented by Zions Bank/finished T48)

Finishing No. 8 in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking, Welch is in position to stand inside the top 10 for the first time in his 10th start on Tour

- In line to make his ninth consecutive cut on Tour in 10 starts - the second-longest streak of consecutive made cuts on Tour this season alongside last week’s champion Alejandro Tosti (T40/-3) (behind Jake Knapp with 13)

Chan Kim (T3/-8) and Bateman (T6/-7) have carded a field-leading 14 birdies through 36 holes