Wood and Canadians Mills and Baryla share halfway lead  PGA TOUR Staff RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- On a chilly and windy day in Southern California, a pair of Canadians are among the leaders at the halfway point of the Mark Christopher Charity Classic presented by the County of San Bernardino.  Chris Baryla's 66 was the best of the three second-round co-leaders. (Feldman/WireImage)
Jon Mills continued his mastery of the Nationwide Tour with a 3-under 68 on Friday, while his fellow countryman Chris Baryla posted a 5-under 66. They are joined by Californian Jeff Wood at 9-under-par 133, two shots ahead of Keoke Cotner (69) and Brenden Pappas (70). Just one week removed from his win at the Albertsons Boise Open -- which propelled him all the way to No. 5 on the Tour's money list -- Mills finds his name sitting atop the leaderboard once again. It isn't unfamiliar territory. In his last five starts, Mills has failed to finish worse than a tie for 16th place. "I'm in a comfort zone right now," said Mills. "I feel my focus is really good and I'm striking the ball pretty well." Mills bogeyed the par-4 first hole on Friday, but rebounded with birdies on three of his next four holes to seize the lead from first-round leader Chris Anderson, who struggled to a 2-over 73. He then played the final 14 holes in 1 under, including 13 pars and a birdie on the par-4 16th hole. "Some people would call this a boring round, but I love them this way," said Mills, a 29-year-old native of Ontario. "It is stress-free golf right now. When you are putting well and hitting the ball well, it makes everything easier. There are a lot of similarities this week with Boise. I am putting the ball well ... and when I don't make birdies I'm leaving it in tap-in range. That takes away the stress." Mills and the rest of the field had to contend with wind gusts up to 30 mph at the par-71 Empire Lakes Golf Club. Despite the treacherous conditions, Mills was solid, hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens in regulation. "To start off the round the wind wasn't that bad," said Mills. "But it definitely picked up. I just want to keep with my routine and keep plugging away ... especially in these conditions." Mills will enter the weekend seeking to add his name to the list of multiple winners this season, which includes Nick Flanagan, Roland Thatcher and Kyle Thompson. A win on Sunday would likely propel him all the way into the second spot on the money list -- particularly with second-ranked Nick Flanagan now walking the PGA TOUR fairways and third-ranked Jason Day (81) missing the cut this week. "I'm just trying to finish as high on the money list as possible," said Mills, who enjoyed his best year on Tour in 2005 when he finished fifth on the money list. "That keeps me focused." Baryla needed just 23 putts on the day to join Mills and Wood in the lead, with his round buoyed by a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 13th hole. Following his round, Baryla had an interesting take on why he succeeded on Friday. "I live in El Paso (Tex.) so I'm used to the wind and I lived in Canada so I'm used to the cold," said Baryla. Baryla continues to add to his memory book at the Mark Christopher Charity Classic. During last year's third round, the 24-year-old native of Alberta recorded a hole-in-one on the 186-yard 17th hole, giving him the keys to a brand-new Hummer H2 courtesy of the tournament title sponsor. "I love this place," said Baryla. "I definitely have good memories here." Second-Round News & Notes: The cut came at 1-over 143 with 73 players advancing to the weekend ... Jon Mills (tied for first) and Ricky Barnes (tied for 12th) increased their Tour-leading consecutive cuts made streak to 10 ... Famed saxophonist Kenny G struggled this week with rounds of 78-82 and missed the cut for the second time at this event (2005) ... Other players who found Empire Lakes less than friendly were leading money-winner Roland Thatcher (76-75--151) and No. 3 Jason Day (68-81--149) ... Jon Mills (tying for third at the 2005 Cox Classic) and Chris Baryla (tying for 10th at the 2006 Nationwide Tour Championship at The Houstonian) have held the 36-hole lead once previously, while this is Jeff Wood's first 36-hole lead ... Through the first 27 events, the 36-hole leader has won nine times, including most recently Franklin Langham at the Utah EnergySolutions Championship. In 13 previous playings of the Mark Christopher Charity Classic, four players have carried the first-round lead on to victory -- most recently wire-to-wire winner Kevin Na in 2006 ... 1999 Mark Christopher Charity Classic winner Brad Elder managed the only bogey-free round on Friday, doing so with 18 pars. Through 36 holes, Elder has posted 33 pars, two bogeys and one birdie. A total of five bogey-free rounds have been posted so far this week ... Dennis Paulson withdrew prior to the start of the second round with a back injury. |
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