Taylor Dickson, Matt Atkins share lead at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open

Second-round leaderboard

Things to know

• Taylor Dickson and Matt Atkins card matching bogey-free 64s and share the 36-hole lead at 12-under par.
• Dickson has recorded just one bogey through two rounds, tied for the fewest by any player this week.
• Atkins earns the second 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career and the first since 2017.
• Wichita native Sam Stevens leads all players this week with 16 total birdies and sits one shot off the lead.
• Pontus Nyholm cards the low round of the day with a bogey-free 8-under 62 and climbs to T3.

Second-round lead notes

11 – Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win the Wichita Open (most recently: Norman Xiong, 2022)

3 – Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on Tour in 2024

Charting the co-leaders

Taylor Dickson (co-leader/12-under)

• Cards a bogey-free 6-under 64 via six total birdies coming on four par 4s (Nos. 1, 10, 15, 16) and two par 5s (Nos. 2, 14)
• Claims a career best 36-hole score of 128 (previous best: 131/2023 Wichita Open/finished T43)
• Earns the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career
  • Previous best 36-hole position was T7 (three times, most recently at 2023 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship)
• This week marks his fifth ever start at the Wichita Open (best finish: T43 in 2023).
• Entered the week No. 17 on the points list, supported by the first Korn Ferry Tour title of his career at the 2024 Astara Chile Classic presented by Scotiabank
  • In Chile, Dickson entered the final round seven shots behind the 54-hole leader Trey Winstead, and he eventually defeated Winstead on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.
• Last year was his best season on the Tour, finishing 39th on the points list after posting eight top-25 finishes, including a runner-up at the 2023 Magnit Championship
• Fourth-year member after originally joining the Tour in 2020 via a T13 finish at Final Stage of 2019 Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying Tournament
• Making the 89th start of his Korn Ferry Tour career this week
  • Has totaled 15 top-25 finishes on the Tour, including nine inside the top 10 and one victory
• Turned professional in 2015 after playing four seasons collegiately at Winthrop University (2011-15) where he won one individual title
• Plays from Gastonia, North Carolina

Matt Atkins (co-leader/-12)

• Cards a bogey-free 6-under 64 via four birdies and one eagle (par-5 14th)
• Earns the second 36-hole lead/co-lead of his career and first since 2017
  • Held the outright 36-hole lead at 2017 DAP Championship (finished T6)
• Last lead of any kind on the Korn Ferry Tour was at the 2023 Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS (18-hole outright leader) where he finished T72
• Sets a new low 36-hole total score of 128 (previous best: 129/2024 Veritex Bank Championship/finished T29)
• This week marks his ninth appearance at the Wichita Open (best finish: T29 in 2019)
• Making his fourth start of the Korn Ferry Tour season this week
  • Best finish this year is a T29 at the Veritex Bank Championship
• Also has two PGA TOUR starts this year, resulting in a missed cut at the Mexico Open at Vidanta and a T46 at the Myrtle Beach Classic
• Has made 160 career starts on the Korn Ferry Tour and logged 21 top-25 finishes, including six top 10s and one victory
  • Lone Korn Ferry Tour title came at the 2017 El Bosque Mexico Championship in his 48th career start
• In 2017, finished the season with three top-10 finishes, highlighted by the aforementioned victory, and went on to earn his first PGA TOUR card at season’s end
• Played one full season on TOUR (2017-18) but finished 211th in the final FedExCup Standings and returned to the Korn Ferry Tour
• Turned professional in 2013 after playing collegiately at University of South Carolina-Aiken, where he earned Division II All-American honors in 2012 and 2013
• Plays from North Augusta, South Carolina

Quotables

Atkins on if he feels added pressure without having guaranteed starts:“Whether it's my fourth start of the year or if I've been playing all year, I went into this year with a completely open mind just trying to win golf tournaments whenever I did get into this. I had to do a bunch of qualifiers to start the year. It's kind of my first season as a pro since making it out to this Tour where I didn't have kind of anything guaranteed. I know that my goal is to get back to the PGA TOUR and the only way to do that is to win golf tournaments. On the scoreboard I haven't really finished all that high. This is where you want to be, towards the top of the leaderboard. I'm looking forward to the opportunity on the weekend.”

Stevens on playing well in his hometown event:“This week is as much of a free roll as I can have, just get to come out here and play my home event. There's obviously pressure, you want to play well, you want to win, but I'm not going to have too high of expectations. Just go out there and play as hard as I can, try and get everything out of my round that I can.”

Additional second-round notes

• Nyholm (T3/11-under) records a bogey-free 8-under 62, tying his career low round (62/R4/2022 Veritex Bank Championship).
  • A third-year member on the Korn Ferry Tour, Nyholm has three top-10 finishes in 63 career starts, with his best finish being a T2 at the 2022 Veritex Bank Championship.
• Korn Ferry Tour rookie Marcus Byrd (T3/11-under) follows his first-round 63 with a second-round 4-under 66 to clinch his lowest 36-hole total of the season (129) and his position after two rounds in any start.
  • Byrd, who began the season with conditional status after a T64 at Final Stage of 2023 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry, notched his first ever top-10 finish last week at the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX (T9).
• Wichita native and Crestview Country Club member Sam Stevens (T3/11-under) cards a second-round 7-under 63 via nine birdies against one double bogey, which came on his final hole of the day (par-4 18th).
  • Stevens opened the second round with six consecutive birdies on Nos. 1-6, marking the longest birdie streak of his career (previous best: five consecutive, R4/2022 Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Woodhouse).
  • Currently sits 94th in the FedExCup Standings after posting six top-25 finishes in 17 starts this season
• 18-hole solo leader Brandon Crick (T10/9-under) cards a second-round 1-under 69 via five birdies against two bogeys and a double bogey at the par-4 seventh.
  • Crick has five previous starts at the Wichita Open, with his best finish being a T23 (2022).
• In his second start as a professional, Nick Gabrelcik (T24/6-under) cards a second-round 7-under 63 via seven birdies and one eagle (par-4 11th) against two bogeys.
  • Gabrelcik earned Korn Ferry Tour membership by finishing No. 5 in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking, which also grants him an exemption for Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry; while at North Florida, Gabrelcik earned eight collegiate victories and four All-America honors, including first-team selections in 2021 and 2024.
  • Defending champion Ricky Castillo (T64/3-under) bounces back from a first-round 1-over 71 with a second-round 4-under 66 to make the cut on the number.