Michigan's Hebert rallies to take second-round lead
The 39-year-old PGA head professional at Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme, Mich., Hebert celebrated the birth of his second child, a baby girl, a week before the Championship. He arrived at Reynolds Plantation without much rest, but has quickly made his presence known.
Backed by a rollercoaster 1-under-par 71 Friday, with five birdies and four bogeys, Hebert earned a 36-hole total of 6-under-par 138 and a one-stroke lead over a quartet that includes Alan Morin of Royal Palm Beach, Fla.; three-time PGA National Assistant Professional Champion Kyle Flinton of Oklahoma City, Okla.; Sonny Skinner of Sylvester, Ga.; and David Long of Bowie, Md.
"I let quite a few get away from me, but that's golf and that's why I'm a club pro, I guess," said Hebert. "I came here wanting to win because it's a big boost for your career. I'm happy where I am after two days. I just had a baby girl so I missed the last week of golf. I couldn't practice and prepare. Yesterday I was pleased with. I'm a little disappointed in today.
"My caddie has been with me for a lot of state opens. My mom came down and my aunt and I'm staying with some members so my gallery is growing," he added. "Tonight I'll just get some rest. I did putt a little better toward the end. I just left too many putts short."
Hebert's woes were not enough to keep him from the top of the leader board. Great Waters, which had been a barrier to scoring in the first round, yielded a 74.04 scoring average Friday, while Reynolds Landing stiffened to 74.95. Fifteen of the top 22 leading scorers played at Great Waters, including Charles Meola of Mamaroneck, N.Y., who turned in a 7-under-par 65, improving by 10 strokes from his opening round and vaulting into a share of sixth place at 140.
A total of 91 players made the 36-hole cut of 2-over-par 146.
Morin, an assistant professional at The Falls Country Club in Lake Worth, Fla., is making his seventh national appearance and owns two top-10 finishes. He opened with birdies on four of his first six holes and temporarily was in the lead at 7 under par. But he struggled with three bogeys and two birdies on the Reynolds Landing back nine.
"We're all here to win; this is what we look forward to every year," said Morin. "It's great to see all of your friends and buddies from other Sections, and we socialize. But we are also here to beat other at the same time."
Flinton, who won the 2002, '03 and '05 TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA National Assistant Professional Championship, made a brilliant par-saving recovery on the ninth hole at Great Waters, his 18th hole of the day. Flinton hit his drive left of the cart path, took a penalty drop, hit a 100-yard wedge approach to within 10 feet and made the par putt. Overall, he hit only seven fairways, needed 24 putts and offset three bogeys with six birdies -- three of them coming on the four par-5 holes.
"I made two of those (recoveries) today, and I felt that once I get my putter in my hands, things start looking better for me," said Flinton, the head professional at Quail Creek Golf and Country Club in Oklahoma City, who is making his Championship debut. "I've been on a high ever since I got off the plane."
Morin and Flinton shared the second-place rung with Skinner, a PGA director of golf at River Pointe Golf Club in Albany, Ga., and David Long, a PGA director of golf at The Country Club at Woodmore in Bowie, Md.
Skinner bogeyed two of his final three holes at Great Waters, but birdied the ninth, his closing hole. Long began play on the back nine at Reynolds Landing and recorded four birdies and three bogeys.
The second round also was a great day for career shots.
Eric Dugas of Brewster, Mass.; Brad Martin of Portland, Ore.; and Brooks West of Brandon Miss., each recorded a hole-in-one.
Dugas and West each holed out on the 11th hole at Reynolds Landing. Martin knocked home a 7-iron at the 170-yard 17th hole at Great Waters, nearly dunking the ball on the fly en route to a 69 and a share of sixth place.
First-round leader Paul Dietsche of Redlands, Calif., ballooned to a 77, dropping into a tie for 23rd place.
The low 20 scorers earn berths into the 90th PGA Championship, August, 7-10, 2008, at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township, Mich.
In addition to the Walter Hagen Cup, the PGA Professional National Championship winner also receives an exemption into the next five PGA Professional National Championships, a spot on the 2009 PGA Cup Team and exemptions into six PGA Tour events over a 12-month period.
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