Seamus Power is six shots off the lead at the halfway point of the John Deere Classic after a second-round 69.
The Waterford native had opened with a 66 in Thursday's opening round at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois but was unable to better that score on Friday which leaves him on seven under in a tie for 18th.
Cameron Young fired a seven-under-par 64 to vault into the overall lead, improving upon Thursday's stellar 65 to get to 13-under, two strokes ahead of Adam Schenk, Brendon Todd and South Africa's Garrick Higgo.
At No 19 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Young is the highest-ranked player in the field at a tournament most elite players are skipping to focus on the upcoming Open Championship. But the John Deere Classic also has a reputation for crowning young, first-time PGA Tour winners, and Young would fit that bill.
The 26-year-old was PGA Tour Rookie of the Year last season, when he finished runner-up at five events, including The Open at St Andrews. But Young is still looking for his first win on tour.
"There's a lot of golf left, and there's a lot of people that are three and four shots behind me, and that can go away really quick," said Young.
"There's just nothing that I can take for granted in that respect. It's a golf course that is very scorable when you are in control, but if you play it kind of loosely, it's not that easy either."
Schenk and Higgo carded rounds of 66 and Todd had a 65 on Friday. Schenk and William Mouw (ten under) are the only two players who are bogey-free through two days.
Swedish rookie Ludvig Aberg, who has made the cut in three straight PGA Tour events since turning pro last month, is in his best position yet to contend. Playing in a group with Young, Aberg matched Young's 64 on Friday and is tied for fifth at ten under.
Aberg made eight birdies and just one bogey on the day, with five of those birdies coming in on the front nine.
Joining him at ten under are Denny McCarthy (64 Friday), Mouw (66) and Kevin Roy, who was one of six players to shoot a 63 on the day.
Sweden's Jonas Blixt followed his opening round of 62 with a 73 on Friday and fell back into a tie for 18th at seven under alongside Power. Defending champion JT Poston shot a 67 and is also at seven under through two days.
Zach Johnson shot a 66 to make the cut on the number (four under), marking his 15th straight made cut at his hometown event. The US Ryder Cup captain hails from nearby Iowa City.
