Before the Chattanooga Men’s Metro began, Ricky Honeycutt had fond memories of the 18^th hole at Valleybrook, having made birdie there to win the 2003 Red Bud.

After two rounds of the Metro, Honeycutt’s opinion of the 18^th might have slipped a notch or two. Honeycutt made his second consecutive bogey there on Saturday after missing a two-foot putt. Honeycutt still walked off the green with a two-shot lead over Chris Gilliland after matching par with a 71, but he was none too happy.

"I had a chance to really get a firm grasp on this tournament the last few holes," Honeycutt said. "But I didn’t do it."

Still, Honeycutt likes his position two shots clear of Gilliland, three ahead of Patrick Williams and four ahead of Mike Jenkins. Gilliland followed his opening 66 with a 73 after bogeying two of his last three holes. Williams put together a second straight 70, and Jenkins turned in the day’s best round, making eight birdies—seven in his last 12 holes—for a 4-under-par 67.

"I’d much rather play from ahead than behind," said Honeycutt, who has become a consistent contender on the local amateur circuit the last two years, winning three times. "I wouldn’t want to try to catch anybody out here. When you start putting pressure on yourself on these greens, you can get into trouble."

Honeycutt knows only too well the perils of Valleybrook’s greens. Since going to Champion Bermuda a few years ago, the club has steadily fine-tuned its greens to the point where they have become some of the most demanding in the city.

"Any distance putt you have can get away from you," said Honeycutt, who missed three two-footers on Saturday.

"I can’t think of the last time I missed a two-footer," Honeycutt said, "let alone three of them in one round."

Saturday’s round was slowed by a two-hour rain delay, and though most of the leaders played decently, no one took control. Honeycutt turned in 1-over-par 36 and trailed Gilliland, with whom he was tied after the first round, by two shots.

Gilliland birdied the final two holes on the front and seemed ready to make a charge, but a bogey at No. 10 derailed him. He wouldn’t make another birdie the rest of the day.

Honeycutt, who was battling his swing early in the round, felt something click after he stiffed a 5-iron to two feet at No. 12 and made a birdie. That squared him with Gilliland at 5-under for the tournament.

The par-3 16^th turned out to be a swing hole. Honeycutt nearly holed his tee shot when his ball landed long and spun back toward the cup. He was left with a 12-footer for birdied and missed the putt, but Gilliland dropped another shot when he couldn’t convert a 3-foot par putt.

"That putt moved a little bit," Gilliland said. "I should have tried to be aggressive with it and just knocked it in the hole."

Gilliland’s own travails on the greens weren’t finished. At the par-5 17^th, Gilliland’s ball moved after he soled his putter. Though it wasn’t his fault, Gilliland was forced to call a penalty on himself and he took another bogey. Honeycutt, who reached the green in two, birdied to go 6-under for the tournament, three shots ahead of Gilliland.

Things were looking grim for Gilliland when he faced a short bunker shot with little green to work with at No. 18 and Honeycutt had two-feet for par after cozying a 40-footer from the back of the green to that distance. But Gilliland saved par, making a clutch 5-footer, and Honeycutt missed his short par putt.

Jenkins was by far the hottest golfer on the course, crediting sports psychologist Charles Plott with helping him develop a more aggressive attitude. Jenkins threw darts at the pins all day. He made birdies from three feet at No. 7, 8 and 10, two feet at No. 11, four feet at No. 13, six feet at No. 14 and a foot at No. 17.

"In competition, I used to play defensively, trying not to make double-bogeys," Jenkins said. "Charles has showed me how to play every hole with the thought process of doing everything I can to try and make birdie, and forget about the holes that I make above par in the process."