VICTORIA, British Columbia—Blair Bursey shot a bogey-free round of 65 to take the second-round clubhouse lead at the Reliance Properties DCBank Open. After completing his weather-delayed first round in the morning, the Gander, Newfoundland, native recorded five birdies to head into the weekend at 8-under, one shot ahead of Victoria amateur Jeevan Sihota.

“I generated a good amount of looks today,” said Bursey. “I didn’t convert as many as some other days, but I’ll just wait for the law of averages to play out. I just need to continue playing tee to green like I have been and just wait for my run to come.”

A member of the Golf Canada Under-18 national team program, Sihota also shot a 65 in the second round, and like Bursey, the clean scorecard featured five birdies.

“I just hit my irons really well,” said the 17-year-old. “I’ve been close to holes, and when you’re close to holes, you can make birdies.”

A pair of Ontario golfers are lurking near the top of the leaderboard. Oshweken’s Jesse Smith is in the clubhouse at 6-under, thanks to a 65 of his own, while Craig Stefureak of Caledonia sits at 5-under after recording a 2-under round of 68.

“I’m just kind of managing my game,” said Smith. “You have to put the ball in the fairway here. I’ve been able to do that so far. The putting’s not great so far, but I’ve been able to make a few.”

“I’m sick and tired of top-10s. I want to win this week,” added Stefureak who elected to hit driver on the reachable par-4, No. 10. “I was able to hit it to about 15 feet and roll that one in for eagle. That felt good, and hopefully it sets me up for a good push on the weekend.”

Round-one leader Marc Casullo of Aurora, Ontario, completed nine holes in his second round before officials suspended play due to darkness. He sits at 6-under, three shots off the lead.”

The second round will resume Saturday at 7:45 a.m. PDT, with the third round set to begin at approximately 11:15 a.m.

Key Information

Points List Standings

Through GolfBC Championship

Complete Points List

• The projected cut sits at 4-over.
• Blair Bursey, Jeevan Sihota and Jesse Smith all recorded 5-under rounds of 65, tied for the low round of the day.
• Craig Stefureak recorded two eagles in his second round and only one birdie.
• Cory Renfrew of Delta, British Columbia, is 4-under through the first 12 holes of his second round and currently sits in a tie for sixth at 4-under overall.
• Darkness forced the suspension of play, with 65 players still needing to finish their second rounds Saturday morning.
• Raoul Menard began this week No. 5 on the Points List and made the most of skipping this week’s tournament. The native of Ange-Gardien, Quebec, tied for ninth, at 11-under, to easily move on to the second stage.
• Jared du Toit, No. 8 on the Points List, played in the Dayton, Nevada, Korn Ferry Tour qualifier rather than playing in this final tournament of the Mackenzie Tour season. He succeeded, tying for 12th with 2019 Mackenzie Tour graduate Lorens Chan. The duo easily qualified for the second stage.
• Maxwell Sear, in 13th place on the Points List, wasn’t able to advance at the West Palm Beach, Florida, Korn Ferry Tour qualifier. He began the final round one shot outside the cutline, shot a 1-under 71 Friday and missed by two shots.
• The top-five players on the final Points List will earn 2022 PGA TOUR Canada membership. First place on the Points List will receive fully exempt status for the 2022 PGA TOUR Canada season, while those in the second-through-fifth positions will earn exempt status up until the first reshuffle based on player performance.

Quotable

“I’ve got a job to do, and if I do that job well, then all the other stuff will work out.” –Blair Bursey, currently in sixth place on the Points List, on trying to finish in the top five

“That was awesome. I can’t even explain how much that helps, especially for me. I like the crowds. It’s awesome, I love it.” –Victoria native Jeevan Sihota on playing in front of the hometown gallery  

 “We knew we had 29 holes to play today, so it’s all about trying to stay with it and getting the momentum going in the right direction. I was able to do that pretty early on and make a couple of birdies.” –Craig Stefureak

 “The greens are so pure out here. Anytime you can play on these greens, without footprints, it’s really nice. The course is always in great condition here.” –Jesse Smith on Uplands Golf Club

 Second-Round Weather:

Mostly Cloudy. High of 16. Wind N at 10 kph.