Hunter Ostrom (SWGA photo)

Ostrom (66-65-131), from Boise, Idaho, takes a slim lead over Christian Banke (66-66-132) of Danville, Calif., in second place, and AJ Ott of Fort Collins, Colo., Albuquerque’s Ignacio Arcaya and Newport Laparojkit of Montebello, Calif., all tied for third place (66-66-133).

The highlight of Ostrom’s second round was a hole-in-one on #2 at the start. “I was shocked for a couple of holes after that but I had a great round. I was good off the tee today only hitting three drivers and a lot of two irons.” The senior marketing major also credited his performance to making good approach shots.

The second round was played under cloudy skies with temperatures in the low to mid 90s. Banke, a senior sociology major at San Diego State, said he had the exact same second round as the first but hit the ball better today. “I was good with being patient. I didn’t have a lot of putts at the beginning of the round but I hit a 20-footer on #17 and kept the momentum going to the last hole par 5.”

At the start of his round, Arcaya, a sophomore business administration major at the University of New Mexico, said that his short game was better than yesterday but his swing didn’t feel as good. The highlight of his round was on #6, an elevated hole surrounded by desert. “I changed clubs on the tee and hit a good one but ended up in the bunker. I went for the green and made it which has given me confidence going into the last two rounds.”

Laparojkit, a senior economics major at San Diego State University, played a solid second round overall. “My mental game was good. I didn’t rush the game and I played one shot at a time.”

The highlight of his round was making a 20-foot birdie playing his last hole.

A senior at Colorado State majoring in business finance, Ott’s second round was also like his first. “I didn’t make a whole lot of putts but I played the par 5s solid and made eagle on #18.”

The tournament continues Friday morning with tee times beginning at 7:30 a.m. through 9:40 a.m.

Now in its 104th year, the Southwestern Amateur has been played at a variety of sites throughout Arizona, California, Texas, Nevada and New Mexico. Since its founding in 1915 as a regional match play invitational tournament for private golf course members to compete against the nation’s best amateur players, the Southwestern Amateur has developed a stellar reputation as a high-quality competition for the nation’s top players.