Quinn rides wave to halfway lead at Nationwide WNB Golf Classic

MIDLAND, Texas -- Fran Quinn might not surf at home but the 44-year-old New England native is certainly riding a wave of good play that just might land him back on the PGA Tour next year. Quinn ended a nine-year winless drought a week ago in Idaho and has put himself in position to possibly win again, this time in Texas.

Quinn added a 5-under 67 Friday to his opening 64 at Midland Country Club, good for a 13-under 131 total and sole possession of the 36-hole lead at the WNB Golf Classic, the 25th of 29 stops on the 2009 Nationwide Tour schedule.

Quinn leads by one over 2008 Nationwide Tour grad Arjun Atwal (64) and by two over Garrett Willis (69) and Jason Schultz (64). Seven players are knotted at 10 under and three back, including 2005 winner Kris Cox, who was 0-for-12 in cuts made this year before returning to the scene of his only Tour title.

"It's fun," said Quinn, who moved up to No. 18 on the money list with his winner's check. "This is what we play for. You just keep trying to play as well as you can and keep a smile on your face."

Quinn's has been all smiles since capturing the Albertsons Boise Open with a clutch birdie putt on the final hole of regulation last Sunday, his first victory since the 2000 Florida Classic.

"I started out and the birdies just kept coming," he said of his second round. "I just kept hitting it close. I hit a lot of quality shots."

He's had a lot of those lately. That wasn't always the case. Quinn made the cut in only six of his first 17 starts this year and found himself No. 98 on the money list thanks to a scoring average of 71.35. Then, in Wichita, things turned for the better.

"If you go back to my last 25 rounds or so, this is probably the best scoring stretch of golf, my most consistent he said. "I've had a lot of good play. Some of it wasn't rewarded but now I'm getting rewarded for it."

The numbers back him up. Starting in early August, Quinn has made the cut in six of his last seven starts, including this one. He sports a scoring average of 68.87 for those events and has earned about 83 percent of his current money total of $179,291. Another good week, or another win here and he'll be a lock to finish in the 25 top money winners who will graduate to the PGA Tour when the season ends.

Quinn hit more fairways Friday than Thursday (10 vs. 8) but fewer greens in regulation (14 vs. 17).

"I played really well yesterday and I have a lot of confidence going right now," said the leader. "I'm putting excellent. These greens are perfect."

Atwal made the day's biggest move with an 8-under 64 that featured ten birdies, six of which came from over 15 feet, including one from about 40 feet.

"The putter started to behave itself," he said after needing only 25 putts on the day. "I started making a lot of putts and the ones I didn't make were right on line. These greens are rolling absolutely perfect. I figured I needed to get into double digits if I was going to get into contention."

Not that anyone figured he would. Atwal has been battling a torn rotator cuff for the 2009 season and is just now feeling good about a swing that helped him win last year's Chattanooga Classic and finish No. 17 on the Nationwide Tour money list.

Atwal played four events on the west coast before an MRI revealed a 50 percent tear in his right shoulder. He spent the next five months on the shelf, anxious to return.

"I've never had so much time off and I was getting kind of edgy at home and my wife was wondering when I was going to start back," he said. "I went back to Milwaukee and I was just miserable. I had lost a lot of my length and wasn't hitting my clubs the same yardage. It was not a good combination."

Atwal played six times and missed all six cuts, admitting he'd returned too soon. The net result to this point -- three cuts in 10 starts and a spot at No. 210 on the FedExCup points list.

Since his last start at the Wyndham Championship, he's been rehabbing his shoulder and has turned to a new swing coach who is helping him take pressure off his ailing right shoulder.

"I missed the cut last week in Boise (where Quinn won) but I wasn't doing it right," said Atwal. "I got on the phone with my coach and we sorted it out. There's a lot less pressure on my shoulder now."

And the results have Atwal paired with Quinn for Saturday's third round.

I didn't expect this at all," said Atwal, who is using this week to prep for next week's Tour stop at the Turning Stone Resort Championship. "Seriously, I haven't made a cut since Pebble Beach, not that I've played that much but it was basically to get some confidence going."

He will need to look no further than his playing partner on Saturday for pointers.

Veteran Joe Durant returned to the Nationwide Tour for the first time since 1996, when he was a member of the Tour graduating class. Durant was looking to get his game in shape as the Fall Series approaches. Unfortunately, the four-time PGA Tour winner posted rounds of 71-70 and missed the cut by one stroke. Durant birdied four of his first five holes Friday and was at 5-under but quickly gave five shots back to par in his next six holes. He closed with birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 18, but it wasn't enough to make the weekend.

"I needed to play in a golf tournament and saw where my game was," he said. "It's kind of where it is on the regular Tour. I just can't seem to get over the hump. I've got to keep working." Durant won back in 1996 at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Classic and noted that the Nationwide Tour has come a long way since he last teed it up.

"We've always known that these guys play great out here and you can tell by the scoring. The guys that come off this Tour and move onto the PGA Tour and win majors, they don't just hang around," he said. "I think the guys that come off this Tour know what they've got to do on the regular Tour to play well. The things that they have to do out here to get them to the regulaor Tour will carry you on the regular Tour now. There was always that question of whether the two correlated. It's obviously proven that it does. It's just gotten so much better out here now."

Second-Round Notes: The temperature when play began Friday was 49 degrees. The afternoon high reached 84 degrees. ... B.J. Staten (73) withdrew prior to the start of the second round. ... D.J. Brigman was disqualified Friday after he realized he had signed an incorrect scorecard Thursday. Brigman's scorecard had a 7 on the 18th hole but he actually made an 8. ... Mathias Gronberg withdrew during the second round due to flu symptoms. Gronberg is No. 17 on the money list. ... Tom Johnson withdrew during the round due to illness.

Blake Adams carded a 3-over 75 and missed the cut. Adams, No. 2 on the money list, was a 4 under but closed his day with a double-bogey/bogey run. Adams held the outright lead after the first, second and third rounds last week and was tied with Fran Quinn when Quinn birdied the final hole of regulation to beat him by one shot. It was Adams' sixth top-10 finish in his last eight starts. ... A total of 73 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 4-under 140. The 4-under cut is the lowest since the tournament moved to Midland CC in 2002. The lowest cut in the tournament's 18-year history was 6 under at The Club at Mission Dorado in 2001.

Garth Mulroy (66-136) had two eagles Friday. ... A total of 14 players posted bogey-free rounds on Thursday. After two rounds, Canadian David Hearn (68-66) is the only player left without a bogey on his scorecard. ... 19 of the top-25 money winners started this week and 11 made the cut. ... Tom Gillis remains perfect for the year. Gillis is 12 for 12 in cuts made after posting scores of 68-68 to start the week. The Michigan resident, and winner of the Nationwide Tour Players Cup in June, is tied for 19th place. He already has nine top-25 and six top-10 finishes on his resume this year.

Jason Schultz birdied seven holes during a nine-hole stretch starting at No. 13 today. Schultz went from 3-under to 10-under en route to an 8-under 64. ... First-round co-leader Rhein Gibson, a Monday qualifier, shot a 2-under 70 today and is tied for fifth place at 10-under 134, three behind leader Fran Quinn. Gibson is a 2008 graduate of Oklahoma Christian University, an NAIA school in Oklahoma City.

Billy Mayfair, a veteran of 643 career starts on the PGA Tour, is making his Nationwide Tour debut this week. Mayfair has posted scores of 68-xx and will be around for the weekend. ... Jeff Gove saw his consecutive cut streak end at 16 this week. Gove carded rounds of 77-72. This is only the third cut he's missed in 2009 and the first since the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in March.

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