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Jeffrey Schmid's ace earns him a share of the lead with Shawn Warren in PGA Tournament Series

By Craig Dolch
Published on
Jeffrey Schmid's ace earns him a share of the lead with Shawn Warren in PGA Tournament Series

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2016) – Jeffrey Schmid showed the best way Thursday to bounce back from a sloppy bogey.

Make a hole-in-one.

Schmid aced the 168-yard sixth hole with a 7-iron on the Dye Course to shoot a 5-under 67 and share the lead with Shawn Warren in Event No. 2 of the PGA Tournament Series at PGA Golf Club.

 “It went right at it, landed 8 feet short and dribbled in,” Schmid said. “It was nice after I made a mess of the hole before,” referring to a bogey on the par-5 fifth.

RELATED: PGA Tournament Series leaderboard

 Schmid, a teaching pro at Brown Deer Golf Club in Iowa City, added five birdies and two bogeys. It was his third ace in competition (he has two others in pro-ams). Schmid won a PGA Tournament Series event last year in a nine-hole playoff over Adam Rainaud.

Warren tied for second in the recent National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship at PGA Golf Club. He had seven birdies and two bogeys on the renovated Dye Course.

 “I got off to a good start with birdie on the first hole, and it loosened me up,” said Warren, an assistant PGA professional at Falmouth Country Club in Maine. “I played smart after that. I was never in any significant trouble and I made a couple of putts.”

 Dakun Chang of Asheville, N.C., Rob Corcoran of Melbourne, Fla., and Bob Sowards of Dublin, Ohio are tied for third place after 68s. Chang was tied for the lead after the first round of Event No. 1, but shot an 80 Tuesday and slid to 36th place.

 “Obviously, I hit the ball a lot better today, but I also made better decisions,” Chang said. “I went out there with a game plan and I stuck with it.”

 Corcoran birdied three of his first four holes, then made 13 consecutive pars. “I was looking for that fourth birdie for a while,” he said. “It finally came on No. 17” in his bogey-free round.

 Said Sowards, who has been one of the big winners in the PGA Tournament Series in recent years: “Nothing exciting. Just six birdies and two bogeys.”

 Richard Terga and Corey McAlarney are two back at 69. At 70, are Rob Labritz and Peter Weatherby.

 Wyatt Worthinton II, who won Event No. 1, becoming the first African American to win in the PGA Tournament Series, shot 74.

 Zachary Brady also made a hole-in-one, using a 7-iron at the 158-yard 14th. It was his third ace; he shot 71.

 The PGA Tournament Series is presented by Golf Advisor.

 Thursday’s first-round results from Event No. 2 of the PGA Tournament Series at the 6,990-yard Dye Course at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla.: