Four share second-round lead at Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open
Published
RESORT VILLAGE OF ELK RIDGE, Saskatchewan – A.J. Ewart, Dylan Menante, Thomas Lilly, and Chuan-Tai Lin share the 36-hole lead in 11-under after the second round of the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open presented by Lake Country Co-op. Rookies Michael Brennan and Johnny Keefer trail the lead by one stroke in 10-under and three players are tied for seventh at 9-under heading into Saturday’s third round.
Team Canada member A.J. Ewart maintains his share at the top of the leaderboard after leading for the first time in his career in Thursday’s first round. The 25-year-old gained entry into this week’s field via sponsor exemption and looks to capitalize on the opportunity in order to gain additional starts with two full-field events remaining in the season. In his fifth start this week, Ewart has appeared in three other events on the virtue of sponsor exemptions, and looks to repeat his performance at his tour debut last month at the Explore NB Open. Ewart posted a top-25 finish and earned himself a spot in the following week’s field; something he is capable of this week after making the cut for the first time since Fredericton.
Rookie Dylan Menante holds a share of the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his career after posting a second-round 5-under 65. Menante earned exempt status for the North America Swing via a No. 15 finish in the 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking this past season. In his third start at the Explore NB Open in July, Menante posted his best finish and tied for seventh. He followed this performance with a tied for 12th showing at the Bromont Open, and continued this excellence with a career-low round at the BioSteel Championship two weeks ago (63/-7). In his last four starts, the University of North Carolina alum has posted three top-25 showings.
Thomas Lilly posted the low second-round score of the leaders with a 6-under 64 on Friday. Lilly was bogey-free all day until his 17th hole (No. 8) when he made double bogey to push him back into a tie for the lead. The 29-year-old recorded eight birdies on the day, and holds a share of the 36-hole lead/co-lead for the first time in his career. Lilly played all six events of the Latin America Swing after finishing No. 52 in the 2023 PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Totalplay Cup, but upon only making three cuts in the spring, he fell out of the top 60 of the Fortinet Cup and had to regain status at the mid-season Q-School. Lilly posted his season-best finish last month at the Bromont Open (T17/-13) and carded his career-low in the following event at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open with a 9-under 63.
Rookie Chuan-Tai Lin earned status to the North America Swing via a 10-25 finish at the mid-season Q-School site in British Columbia in June. While finishers one through nine earned exempt status, Lin fell into the finishers 10-25 category and received conditional status for Segment 2. The 22-year-old began the first half of the season with two top-25s in four starts. Following the first reshuffle after the Bromont open, Lin claimed his best showing of the season with a tied for fourth finish at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open. With that showing, Lin climbed inside the top 60 of the Fortinet Cup for the first time and now looks to earn more starts through another top finish in Saskatchewan following the last reshuffle of the season.
Third-round tee times begin at 7:52 a.m. MT and will run until 11:40 a.m. MT off the No. 1 tee on Saturday.