They know him now, but Sam Saunders seeks bigger goal at Wyndham

GREENSBORO -- As Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders has become more recognizable around Sedgefield Country Club, particularly with the attention paid to the late golfing great this week.

Yet it's possible that Saunders is forging his own identity.

"I want to be recognized for good golf," Saunders said after Friday's 2-under-par 68 kept him on the Wyndham Championship leader board. "I'm in a good position after two days. I'll take where I am right now."

He sits at 9-under entering the weekend as he aims for his first victory on the PGA Tour.

Saunders' 63 in the first round provided confidence.

"You want to build up with a solid round of golf," he said. "You want to make sure it wasn't an accident."

With more difficult hole placements for the second round, the scores weren't as low for most golfers as a day earlier. Saunders agonized when his birdie attempt rolled just left of the cup on No. 9, which was his finishing hole Friday.

Saunders began the tournament in the 127th spot in FedEx Cup points, meaning he has to move up at least two spots to secure a position in the playoffs. He seems on his way to doing that, but there are other goals.

"The objective is, again, to try to win a golf tournament," he said. "You want to get yourself in position to win. If you don't win, the byproduct, you take care of your job anyway."

This article is written by Bob Sutton from Times-News, Burlington, N.C. and was legally licensed via the Tribune Content Agency through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.