Brad Karns of Vancouver, Wash. shot his second consecutive 3-under par 69 to take the lead at the 30th Washington State Senior Men's Amateur; while Gudmund Lindbjerg of Port Moody, B.C. shot an even-par 72 to hold on to a slim one-shot lead in the 9th Super Senior Men's Amateur.
Both championships are being held concurrently at Wine Valley Golf Club in Walla Walla, Wash. They each are 54 holes of stroke play and are conducted by the Washington State Golf Association (WSGA).
In today's second round, Karns was even-par after bogeys on the 13th and 14th holes, but then kicked it into gear with an eagle three on the uphill par-5 15th hole, and topped it off with a birdie on the par-5 18th.
Karns had started the day in third place, behind Pete Higgins of Mercer Island, Wash. and first-round leader Tom Lewis of Bonney Lake, Wash.
Last month, Karns was the second-round co-leader in the Senior Oregon Open playing against the pros, before falling back in the final round. In 2012 he had finished third in the Pacific Northwest Men's Mid-Amateur.
Higgins shot an even-par 72 today, good enough to hold onto second place, two back of Karns. Higgins had won the 2015 WSGA Senior Men's Champion of Champions.
Lewis, who had opened the Senior Men's Championship with an impressive 5-under par 67 in yesterday's first round, had a pair of bogeys on the back nine today on his way to a 2-over par 74, surrendering the lead to Karns. Lewis is alone in third place, three shots back of Karns.
Bob Burton, the defending champion from Everett, Wash., sits alone in sixth place.
Karns, Higgins and Lewis will be paired together in tomorrow's final round, teeing off at 1:00 p.m.
In the Super Senior Men's Amateur, first round leader Lindbjerg managed an even-par round today to hold onto a slim one-shot lead over Ron Garland of Bozeman, Mont., who also shot even-par to stay on the heels of Lindbjerg.
After 17 holes today, Lindbjerg had a strong hand on a four-shot lead over Garland, but on the 18th hole, a relatively benign downhill 520-yard par-5, Lindbjerg brought the rest of the field back into play by stumbling to a double-bogey while Garland birdied the hole, resulting in a three-shot swing.
Lindbjerg and Garland were paired together today. They are the only two players in the Super Seniors who have finished the two rounds in red numbers.
The third player in the group was John Gallacher of Burnaby, B.C., who sits alone in third place, three shots back of Lindbjerg. Gallacher bogeyed the 18th hole.
By chance these three players were paired together in yesterday's first round, and were paired again today because of their low scores, and they will be paired again tomorrow as they continue to separate themselves from the rest of the field.
Click here for pairings and more information about the Senior Men's Amateur Championship, and here for the Super Senior Men's Amateur Championship.
Follow the championships on Twitter at the handles @WSGA1922 and @WSGAChampions for live updates and news and use the hashtags #WSGASrMensAm and #WSGASupSrMensAm.
A Dan Hixson design, Wine Valley Golf Club has been the site of numerous state and regional championships, including this year's PNGA Men's Amateur and regional qualifier for the Washington State Amateur.
