BERTHOUD >> Air Force alumnus and former Fort Collins resident Tim Whitney didn’t play poorly in his previous Korn Ferry Tour tournaments at TPC Colorado, but he didn’t play great either.

Certainly not as great as his first two rounds at this year’s The Ascendant.

Whitney completed his first round Friday morning at 5 under par and matched his 67 in the second round to take the lead after the first wave of golfers made it to the clubhouse Friday afternoon.

His previous Korn Ferry tournaments at TPC Colorado include a couple of missed cuts as well as finishes in the 40s and 50s.

Even with half the field still on the course, he felt good not only about his play Friday, but his position entering the weekend. Especially after playing 24 consecutive holes in one day.

“Long day, started with six holes and pretty significant wind for as early as we started,” Whitney said. “It was a battle to finish even-par on those six holes. And then it was a fight the first half of the second round on the back nine. I mean, it’s just plain tough. The wind is gusting; it’s a little bit inconsistent. You really just have to take advantage of the birdie holes, and I definitely did that.”

Whitney said the course and the tournament have a home-event feel, having lived in Colorado for a total of 12 years. His three oldest children and his wife are in Berthoud this weekend to support him, as well as some friends.

The timing of the tournament, as well as the location, make it a rare event to have his family and friends on hand to watch him. They are watching him try to win a tournament and get back to the PGA Tour as well.

Whitney played on the PGA Tour last season after finishing high enough in the Korn Ferry Tour standings in 2023 to assure himself a spot. Now he is trying to get back.

“In 2023, I spent only the first week of the season outside the top 20,” Whitney said. “So that year looked a lot different. Now that I’ve seen it on the other side and know what to expect, there’s a lot less pressure. I know I’ve gotten there before, and I can do it again.”

To get back there this year, however, he has some work to do. He entered the weekend 76th in the Korn Ferry standings but is coming off an 11th-place finish at the tour’s last stop, the Memorial Health Championship at the end of June.His second round Friday was highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 sixth hole. Finishing his final four holes at 3 under put him in sole possession of the lead when he came off the course.

“The eagle on No. 6 was actually like a 15-foot putt, maybe a 12-foot putt,” he said. “So, yeah, pretty simple left-to-right putt, and I had a lot of putts today that looked like they were tracking to go in and unfortunately just fell out right at the last moment. Obviously, made a good number of them as well and kept the big numbers away; only had a couple of bogeys out there so far, so I feel like I’m pretty in control of the game.”

Several golfers were able to keep pace with Whitney. Nicolo Galletti shot a 6-under 66, the best round of the early wave of golfers, and he sits one stroke behind Whitley at 9 under for the tournament.

Just back of them, Emilio Gonzalez also shot a 5-under 67 in his second round after wrapping up his first round with a 69. He made it to the clubhouse one stroke behind Galletti and two behind Whitney. However, half the field hadn’t finished their second round after multiple weather delays during Thursday’s first round put the tournament schedule behind.

Gonzalez’ second round was highlighted by an eagle on the third hole, and he played solid golf the rest of the day despite having to complete the final 5 holes of his first round before he could begin his second.

“It’s always strange when you have to come back and have a really early restart,” Gonzalez said. “I think I adapted well. I had a good warmup. I had a good night of sleep, fortunately, even though it was a really early wake-up call. But things just worked out my way early on.

“Made a couple of birdies coming in to finish my first round to settling things down to start my second round and played super solid, didn’t really make a mistake and just pretty stress free, which was nice.”

Gonzalez entered The Ascendant seventh in the Korn Ferry standings. This is his second time playing the event. He missed the cut last year. Being in contention going into the weekend is something he is very happy about.

“It feels great,” Gonzalez said. “I’ve been fortunate to be in that position enough this year, and just excited for the opportunity. I’ve had a solid first half of the year, so that’s nice.”

Adrien Dumont de Chassart joined Gonzalez at 8 under par for the tournament after the first wave of golfers completed the second round. Many golfers in the second wave, however, still had a chance to match or do better than those who played early. The projected cut early Friday evening was set at 1 under.