On 2nd thought, Brendon de Jonge on roll

NORTON, Mass. -- On Friday, Brendon de Jonge sounded like a man who had pleasantly surprised himself.

By yesterday, the Zimbabwe-born golfer was a guy who fully believed in his talents again.

Even though he lost the Deutsche Bank Championship lead to Charley Hoffman's scorching 8-under round, what was more important to de Jonge was that he was able to follow up a good round (65) on Friday with one he felt was even better (68) yesterday, leaving him at 9-under overall on the par-71 TPC Boston course.

LEADERBOARD: Deutsche Bank Championship

His opening round went a long way toward boosting his confidence, which had taken a beating lately. He came into the Deutsche Bank having missed his last two cuts, four of the last eight and 6-of-12.

"It did (help)," de Jonge said of Friday's round. "More than anything else it made me feel like I turned the corner. As I said (Friday), I've been struggling for a while. I was hoping (Friday's) score sort of helped me turn that corner."

De Jonge yesterday birdied Nos. 2, 3, 4, 7 and 17 while he bogeyed 8 and 18. The competitors did not have to contend with the troublesome breeze that dogged them on Friday.

"I hit a lot more fairways today and gave myself a lot more chances, unfortunately I couldn't make enough of (the putts)," de Jonge said. "I actually played better than I played (Friday). It was obviously a little easier as well. I just couldn't make the putts."

GOING LOW: Hoffman leads after Round 2 of Deutsche Bank Championship

He was in an even better frame of mind yesterday than he was after his 6-under start.

"It's just because of how I played (yesterday)," de Jonge said. "(Friday) I felt like I kind of got away with it a little bit. I made a bunch of putts. So it feels a little more satisfying today."

At 35, de Jonge is looking for his first PGA tournament win. He's 3 back of Hoffman heading into today's third round.

"It's going to take a lot more good scores (to win)," de Jonge said. "I think there will be some good ones (yesterday) afternoon. The greens are pretty receptive and they're rolling really well."

Finally, de Jonge appears to be a on a bit of a roll himself. 

This article was written by Steve Conroy from Boston Herald and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.