Matt Bettencourt dropped shots at his closing two holes to give up the outright lead after round two of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
American relinquishes outright lead in Reno
Matt Bettencourt dropped two shots at his closing two holes to give up the outright lead at the halfway stage of the Reno-Tahoe Open.
Back-to-back bogeys saw the 35-year-old American card a second round 68 and slip to a share of the lead with compatriot Robert Garrigus on 10 under par.
Bettencourt, who started on the back nine, made five at the 464-yard par-four eighth, and added a six at the 616-yard par-five ninth.
Garrigus claimed a share after shooting a sparkling 65, with seven birdies and no dropped shots, matching the lowest round of the day.
Dominated
The other 65 came from Len Mattiace, who bounced back well from his opening 78 to make the cut with comfort, moving to a one-under aggregate.
Garrigus is aiming for his first PGA Tour victory but should have had one in the bag already, frittering away a three-shot lead on his final hole at the St Jude Classic last month, before losing to Lee Westwood in a play-off.
John Mallinger moved into third place on a leaderboard dominated by Americans, with a 67 taking him to eight under, while Bob Heintz, Bill Lunde, John Merrick, Kevin Stadler were a shot further adrift.
Next in line, on six under, were two of the biggest names in the field.
Chad Campbell, runner-up at the Masters last year and PGA Championship in 2003, carded a second successive 69 to be level with former Open Championship runner-up Chris DiMarco, who shot 71.
