Tall golfer takes narrow lead into third round at Utah Championship

SANDY — There aren't many golfers larger than Michael Putnam. At 6-foot-4, 215 pounds, he towers over most of his fellow competitors and looks like he could be playing tight end on Sundays, rather than professional golf.

Not only does Putnam stand taller than his fellow golfers, he's also looking down on the competition at the halfway point of the Nationwide Tour's Utah Championship. Putnam rode a hot putter in firing his second straight 5-under-par 66 Friday afternoon to take a one-shot lead after two rounds of the $550,000 tournament.

Florida's Cliff Kresge, a six-year veteran of the PGA Tour, is one shot behind at 133, followed by another Florida golfer, Rob Oppenheim, at 134. Bradley Iles, a 27-year-old from New Zealand, shot a 65, the lowest score of the day, and is tied with Jhonattan Vegas of Argentina and PGA Tour veteran Skip Kendall at 135.

"It was definitely a grind-it-out day, and my putter saved me today," said Putnam, a 27-year-old former Pepperdine golfer who won more than $400,000 on the PGA Tour in 2007.

Putnam made two 10-foot par-saving putts, a couple of birdie putts over 10 feet, but his best putt came on the second-to-last hole, when he snaked in a 40-foot downhill putt with several feet of break.

"It was one of those putts you get lucky on," he said. "I was just trying to die it to the hole."

Putnam has played well in his two previous appearances a Willow Creek. In 2006 as a Nationwide rookie, he shot a final-round 64, that included an 8-under-par 29 on the back nine and finished in a tie for second. He also shot a second-round 63 in 2008, when he finished in a tie for 28th.

"I know I can play well here and I like it with the five par-5s," he said. "I'm one of the longer hitters out here and as long as I can keep it in the fairway I'll be rewarded."

Sandy's Steve Schneiter put himself in contention with a 5-under-par 66, despite a couple of late bogeys.

"I'm very happy, but it could have been lower," said Schneiter, who stands at 137 for the tournament. "I just had a couple of bad swings."

The 47-year-old Schneiter produced his low score despite nursing a sore right shoulder. He said he wrenched it earlier in the week at Lagoon, throwing a ball at the milk bottles.

"I can still swing, but later in the day it starts to hurt," he said.