LeBrun and DeForest share halfway lead at Miccosukee Championship

MIAMI -- Steve LeBrun and Christopher DeForest share the 36-hole lead at the Web.com Tour’s Miccosukee Championship at 7-under-par 135 after Friday’s second round. Cameron Percy is alone in third place, two strokes behind.

With the winds gusting to as much as 30 mph at times during the day at the Miccosukee Golf and Country Club, LeBrun turned in one of the day’s best rounds, a 4-under-par 67, which included six birdies. LeBrun, who lives just 60 miles away in nearby West Palm Beach, found the elements to his liking.

“The wind basically blew in the same direction all day and it seemed to pick up some in the middle of the round, but I’m used to the wind from living down here,” said LeBrun, who played his college golf at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. “I think it helps being from here when you have wind like this, but one of the keys was that I putted amazing today. My putting hasn’t been bad but it was nice to see them dropping because I’ve been having a lot of them lip out lately.”

LeBrun had just 22 putts, including an amazing 14 one-putts, on his card. He birdied three of his final five holes and capped his day by dropping in a 30-footer on his 18th hole.

Like LeBrun, DeForest feels right at home playing in windy conditions.

“I played my college golf at the University of Illinois in the Midwest and the wind howled there, so we had a lot of days like today,” said DeForest, who wasn’t able to match his 6-under-par 65 in the opening round, but still put a 1-under-par 70 on his scorecard to earn a share of the lead. He bounced back from a bogey at his 17th hole by making a 35-footer for birdie on his final hole to tie LeBrun.

“The odds are against you usually when you have a long putt like that, but fortunately mine went in,” added DeForest.

Both players are seeking their first career wins on the Web.com Tour as well as the opportunity to make a major move on the money list to earn a spot in the season-ending Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Craig Ranch near Dallas from Oct. 25-28. It is open to the top 60 players on the money list. With just one full-field event remaining after this, both players will need strong finishes to move into the top 60. LeBrun is currently 77th, while DeForest is 123rd.

Jason Allred, who led after an opening-round 64, dropped into a tie for eighth place after a 4-over-par 75 on Friday.

Second-round notes:

--A total of 64 players from a starting field of 144 made the cut at 1 over par. Among the cut casualties was Derek Fathauer (+3), who was 61st on the current money list.

--The day’s low round was turned in by Wes Short Jr., a 5-under-par 66. By shaving eight strokes off his opening-round score, Short moved up 83 places and is now tied for 16th.

--Three players withdrew on Friday – Justin Hicks (elbow), Reid Edstrom (knee) and Jason Gore (injury).

--The wind certainly had an effect on the scoring as the field average jumped from 71.782 to 72.770 on Friday. Only 12 players finished with rounds in the 60s compared to 36 on Thursday, and there were just 33 sub-par rounds compared to 51 a day earlier.

--Both LeBrun and DeForest are able to stay at their homes this week. LeBrun resides in West Palm Beach and DeForest is currently living in Palm City.