Years ago, Clay Smith, disgusted with the state of his golf game, banished his clubs to the closet.

"I told myself if I wasn’t going to have fun playing golf, then I just wasn’t going to play any more," Smith said.

But old addictions die hard, and after a prolonged period where he didn’t touch a club, Smith reached into his closet. On Saturday, Smith was glad he did.

Shooting his second consecutive 3-under-par 67, Smith took a two-shot lead after 36 holes of the Chattanooga Men’s Metro at Moccasin Bend.

Smith leads by two shots over Richard Keene and Tom Schreiner. Keene followed an opening 67 with a 69, and Schreiner shot his second consecutive 68.

For two days, Smith has stayed on top of the USGA-like conditions at Moccasin Bend. Tournament organizers didn’t want the city’s top players to rip up the Bend, so par was reduced to 70 by converting No. 9 and No. 18, both easily reachable par 5s, into par 4s. And the rough has grown nearly as tall as U.S. Open competitors faced at Chicago’s Olympia Fields last month.

The key to Smith’s success so far can be reduced to one word—accuracy.

"I’ve just kept the ball in play," Smith said. "This isn’t a power golf course. You don’t have to reach back and hit from the heels. You put the ball in the fairway and on the green. You’ve got to take advantage of your opportunities when you have them, but you don’t want to make a dumb mistake. There are enough birdies out here to pull you back in it."

Smith made three birdies on Saturday, at No. 7, 13 and 15. The only time he came close to a bogey came at No. 9, when he pulled his 205-yard, 5-iron second shot into the left greenside bunker. The ball was dangerously close to the lip of the trap, but Smith blasted out to four feet and made the par putt.

"It was a solid round," Smith said. "I was very pleased to play without a bogey today. I couldn’t convert a lot of opportunities on the front nine, but I made some putts I had to have."

Schreiner called his round—and in fact his game—"extremely boring." We should all be so bored. Schreiner, too, made three birdies, and his only bogey of the day came at No. 8 when he missed a two-and-a-half footer for par. After barely playing any tournament golf this season, Schreiner is pleased where he stands after 36 hole of the Metro.

"I just want to have a look [at the lead]," he said. "That’s all you can ask for. A shot or two off the lead going into the final day. I’ve given myself a chance."

Keene’s recent work with teaching professional Zeb Patten has paid quick dividends. Patten suggested that Keene stand taller at address, and the change has allowed Keene to turn through his full shots more consistently.

"But it’s still very foreign to me," Keene said. "Right now, it’s hard to stand on the tee at No. 11, 12 and 13 and trust it. But I told Zeb I wasn’t worried about the Metro. Not that I don’t care about this tournament and wouldn’t want to win it. But I’m looking at playing well in the U.S. Amateur qualifier [next month at The Honors]."

Keene had an interesting round, offsetting three bogeys with four birdies. He didn’t make a par in a five-hole stretch heading toward the clubhouse. After a birdie at No. 13, Keene proceeded to bogey 14 and 15. But he regrouped nicely with birdies at 16 and 17 and parred the suddenly tough par-4 18th.

At 16, Keene hit a sand wedge to six feet and knocked in the putt. Another sand wedge at 17 resulted in an eight-footer that Keene calmly put in the hole to tie Schreiner for second place.

David Lawson, who works at Council Fire, nailed down the 36-hole Senior Metro with a 72 to go with his opening 73. Lawson’s total of 145 was one shot ahead of J.C. Duggan, who shot 72 on Saturday, and two ahead of Douglas Brewer, who carded a 71. The senior championship was Lawson’s second; he won his first in 2000.