With preferred lies in effect, World No. 140 Adam Long styled a bogey-free 3-under-par 32-35=67 in R2 of the HPE Houston Open to post 7-under 133, up three spots to solo 3rd, three swings shy of clubhouse leader Martin Trainer (65).
The South Florida resident, who finished T11 here on debut last year (68-70-69-67), arrived 3-for-5 on the season with two top 25s, two straight after a T22 last week in Mexico. If he remains in the top 10 after R2 is completed tomorrow (Saturday), it would be his first time there since last season’s stand-alone Corales in the fall portion of the wraparound schedule, where he was T5 and then the 54-hole leader by two before finishing solo 5th (70-65-64-75). The 34-year-old is a one-time TOUR winner in 88 events, claiming the 3-course Desert Classic in his sixth career event and fifth as a member during his rookie campaign, where he came from three back (3rd) with 7-under 65 to win by one over 54-hole leader Phil Mickelson and Adam Hadwin. Today, he ticked three birdies on six (of 13) fairways and 13 greens in regulation, losing 0.700 strokes off-the-tee but gaining a whopping 4.066 with the flat stick, including two scoring conversions from between 11 and 24 feet, and two par-savers from between 14 and 20 feet.