Zac Blair shoots 69 for 5-under that has him poised to make back-to-back cuts in home state

IVINS — Zac Blair may be starting to like playing on the PGA Tour in his home state.

The former BYU golfer who lives in Orem carded his fifth birdie on the par-5 18th hole before second-round play was suspended Friday evening due to darkness Friday, with his 69 bringing him down to a two-day total of 5-under-par 142 in the Bank of Utah Championship at Black Desert Resort.

With plenty of golfers left to finish their round at 8 a.m. MDT Saturday, the projected cut line currently sits at 1-under. That includes former Weber High and Georgia Tech standout Connor Howe, who was bogey-free and 4-under through 12 for 7-under when play was called.

But Blair credited the familiar environment, including his wife and children joining him for the weekend, as well as his dad who lives in St. George, as key to his comfortability of golfing in the desert.

"Obviously, any time you make the cut it's a decent week, so that was nice to be able to play four rounds," Blair said Wednesday of last year's finish.

"Again, just having my family here. I think my mom, my dad, my wife, all my kids were out, which it's an easy week to do that. The place is set up pretty awesome to have that kind of atmosphere, which is great."

Former BYU golfer Carson Lundell was also straddling the cut line, shooting even-par through 11, or one of the projected cut. That's the same as fellow BYU alum Patrick Fishburn, who shot 70-72 with his 1-over finish Friday.

Former two-time Utah state amateur champion Preston Summerhays, the Farmington native who recently turned pro out of Arizona State, rebounded from his first-round 77 to shoot 69 Friday, but will finish over the cut line at 4-over.

BYU freshman Kihei Akina, the former Lone Peak star and reigning Utah Open champion, is also like to miss the cut after shooting 77 Thursday. He's even par through 11 holes while playing as an amateur.

Michael Brennan, the PGA Tour Americas star who earned a Korn Ferry Tour exemption with a dominant late-summer eruption, shot 6-under 65 Friday to take a one-stroke lead atop the leaderboard. His 10-under is one stroke ahead of Jackson Suber, Pierceson Coody and Justin Lower.

"I feel like I'll definitely be more prepared for this weekend after having those experiences and I know it's not the same level," Brennan said after winning three times on the Americas tour, "but I am going to try to treat them the exact same and see what happens."

Defending champion Matt McCarty, Takumi Kanaya and David Ford are two shots back in a tie for fifth.

McCarty admitted that returning to southern Utah to defend his title at the former Black Desert Championship "definitely" gave him a laser focus in round 2.

"That's a unique opportunity," he said, "and to be able to go back to back would be something cool.

"The kind of climate is similar to growing up in Arizona, just desert golf in general," he added. "But winning out here in my second start on Tour, that's pretty much it. Then obviously now being an ambassador and being able to come back and have their support and everything, and had a couple trips here throughout the year.

"So, yeah, just happy to be back and happy to be playing well."

Jason Day shot 68-72 to finish at 2-under when play was suspended, and he's likely to make the cut despite finishing the back nine with three bogeys with just one birdie.

Still, the 37-year-old Australian with 13 wins on the PGA Tour including the 2015 PGA Champinoship said he'll likely be back after exploring the Snow Canyon area with his family.

"It was unreal," he said of the scenic southern Utah landscape. "I got in a little bit of trouble with my wife because typically when I'm on the road I don't really do much. Since it's ten minutes away it's kind of nice.

"So that was nice," he added, "I was able to see that. I typically don't venture out too much. Usually go to my bus and then golf course and back and forth, and when my family is with me they get to go do all the cool stuff."

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