Golf: Course record falls again; Kizzire leaps to front of Utah Championship

Lehi • Another day, another broken course record at Thanksgiving Point Golf Club, which is not turning out to be nearly as difficult for Web.com Tour golfers as many locals thought it would.

Friday's second round actually produced two scores that beat the previous course record. Though they never really faced each other in college and consider themselves good friends, 29-year-old Patton Kizzire (Auburn) and 23-year-old Trey Mullinax (Alabama) brought their schools' rivalry to the Beehive State.

Morning starters Kizzire and Mullinax shot 10-under 62s, ending Kelly Kraft's 24-hour reign as the course record holder. Kraft fired a 63 during Thursday's first round. Before Kraft's round, the record of 64 — jointly held by Utahns Mike Weir, Steve Schneiter and Jimmy Blair — had been around for at least 12 years.

Another golfer who teed off Friday morning, Steve Marino, matched Kraft's 63 but is tied for 13th after a 74 on Thursday.

Tournament director Mark Whetzel's prediction a few weeks ago that 10 to 12 under would be the week's winning score has a good chance of being defeated, as leader Kizzire sits at 15-under 129 heading into the weekend.

The "General," as some caddies and close friends on tour call Kizzire because of his first name and 6-foot-5 frame, has a four-shot lead over Kraft and a five-shot lead over four others: Mullinax, Korea's Sung Kang, Germany's Stephan Jaeger and former Wichita State golfer Ryan Spears.

"That's one of my better rounds ever, really, either this year or ever," said Kizzire, who finished about an hour before Mullinax and well-before the wind kicked up in the afternoon.

Kizzire broke Kraft's short-lived record despite making a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole, his 15th, having started on No. 10. After making five straight birdies on hole Nos. 11-15 and more birds on holes 17, 18, 1 and 5, Kizzire was 9 under and looking to shoot a 59, or at least a 60.

But a shot from the rough "got away from me to the right and got a bad bounce and went down [into] the hazard," he said.

Unfazed after that potential momentum-wrecker, he proceeded to birdie his next three holes, making a 30-footer on No. 7, a 15-footer on No. 8 and an 18-footer on No. 9 that took its time getting to the hole and just crawled over the edge.

"Sometimes a double bogey just gets me refocused," Kizzire said. "Who knows if I would have birdied the last three? Yesterday I started out with a bogey and immediately got focused and made an eagle. So it was nice to bounce back both days."

Kizzire said he "actually hit the ball better yesterday than I did today," but the holes looked bigger and more putts fell. After touring Thanksgiving Point for the first time Tuesday in a practice round when it was significantly windier than it has been Thursday or Friday, Kizzire also believed scores would be higher than they have been.

"It is pretty tough to put together a 9- or 10-under round out here," he said.

Mullinax is tied for third at 10 under after adding a 62 to Thursday's 72. He made 10 birdies and no bogeys in his vault up the leaderboard. The tour rookie — who says he would be "turning wrenches at my dad's shop" if he wasn't better with a 9-iron than a tire iron — said it was one of the lowest rounds he's ever posted.

"At least I caught [Kizzire] today," he said. "I know Patton won't be slowing down, that's for sure."

The cut — the low 60 golfers, plus ties — came at 1-under 143. It was at 5 under last year at Willow Creek.

Utahns Keith Clearwater (+2) and Gipper Finau (+8) failed to make the cut after the 55-year-old Clearwater posted a 74 Friday and Finau rebounded with a 72 after Thursday's disastrous 80.

So the pared-down field starts chasing Kizzire this weekend, just like when the week began. The Auburn-educated son of Maxie Kizzire, a former standout baseball player at Alabama, is No. 1 on the tour's money list with $274,699 in earnings, despite having not won a tournament this year.

He's got eight top-10 finishes, however, in a breakout season after not doing much as a professional since giving up his amateur status in 2008. Kizzire credits a move to Sea Island, Ga., three years ago for boosting his game, along with mentorship from the likes of Davis Love, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

"Just a lot of things are coming together for me, just different parts of my game, my personal life," he said.

And he's got a course record a long way away in Utah to celebrate, even if a Crimson Tide product is making him share it.

drew@sltrib.com

Twitter: @drewjay