New Nelson venue has Leishman (66) feeling right at home

Wind or no, Marc Leishman likes his chances at the AT&T Byron Nelson after breaking the 36-hole record previously shared by Tiger Woods.

Hometown star Jordan Spieth really wants it to blow.

Leishman followed the best round of his PGA Tour career with a 5-under 66 at the new Trinity Forest course Friday, reaching the halfway point at 15-under 127 for a one-shot lead over 21-yearold rookie Aaron Wise — and keeping Spieth eight back on the links-style layout where the Dallas native is a member.

Maybe Spieth isn’t the only one who feels at home.

“This course has got a real Australian feel to it,” said Leishman, the 34-year-old Aussie who opened with a 10-under 61. “Reminds me a lot of home. So that might have something to do with it.”

Winds were stronger on the treeless tract, but not until late in the morning rounds of Leishman and most of the others on the second-round leaderboard.

The wind didn’t bother Wise, who shot a bogey-free 63 in the afternoon. He will be in the final group for the third round two weeks after tying for second while playing with Wells Fargo winner Jason Day on Sunday.

Brian Gay, another playing in calmer morning conditions, matched his tour low at 62 to reach 13 under. Kevin Na (65), Eric Axley (65) and Jimmy Walker are 11 under.

“I was telling my caddie it’s never this calm in Dallas three days in a row,” said Gay, who has played every Nelson except one since 2000. “Looks like it might start picking up now.”

That’s what Spieth figures he needs since he’s more familiar with wind and firmer greens on a course named for the 6,000 acres of thick trees surrounding the undulating layout a few miles south of downtown Dallas. The Nelson spent the past 35 years in suburban Irving.

Spieth, at 7-under 135 after matching Leishman’s 66, is the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 3. He’s trying to improve his best Nelson finish of a tie for 16th as a 16-year-old amateur in 2010.

“If the wind really does pick up, which I really hope it does and the course can show some teeth, you’re looking at a potential winning score at under 20 under even though it took 15 for the first two,” said Spieth, who missed the cut in the final Nelson at the TPC Four Seasons last year. “Just dicey.”

Champions Tour: Gene Sauers shot a 5-under 67 to move into a first-place tie with Miguel Angel Jimenez in the second round of the Regions Tradition, the first of five PGA Tour Champions majors.

Jimenez and Sauers were at 11-under 133. This was the first time either held or shared the lead after two rounds in a major.

Two-time defending champion Bernhard Langer was nine shots behind. He is trying to become the first to win three straight at the Tradition since it began in 1989.

European Tour: Jorge Campillo of Spain led the field after two days of strokeplay qualifying at the Belgian Knockout tournament in Antwerp. The top 64 players go into nine-hole knockout stroke-play matches at the weekend.

Georgetown, Gateway Prep win series openers: Pitching carried Georgetown to a 1-0 win over Magnolia in the first game of a best-ofthree Class 5A third-round series Thursday in Bryan. Grayson Smith gave up just one hit for the Eagles in a complete-game win.

On Friday afternoon the Eagles dropped Game 2 of the series 4-0. Quinton Carpenter pitched a complete game two-hitter to give Magnolia the victory. The series finale was being played late Friday at Nutrabolt Stadium in Bryan.

In a Class 3A third-round series opener, Georgetown Gateway Prep rolled to a 7-1 win over Marion in San Marcos. The teams resumed their series Friday night at San Marcos High School.

Title-winning coach to leave Hendrickson: A year after reaching the prep pinnacle of her profession, Hendrickson girls soccer coach Rennie Rebe will resign her position at the Pflugerville school district campus to become executive director of the G10 Academy FC, a new soccer club in Austin.

Rebe tweeted the news Thursday afternoon.

She led Hendrickson to the 2017 Class 6A state championship, her first state title in a 21-year coaching career as well as Hendrickson’s first state title in any team sport. Her career has also included stops at Franklin High School in her native El Paso as well as Stony Point, Humble Kingwood and Westlake. She has an overall record of 383-95-35 and has won 14 district titles.

The G10 Academy, in the Cuernavaca neighborhood in the Eanes school district, “was created to support the lifestyle of families with young athletes who desire a higher level of athletic development year-round,” according to the academy’s website.

Primarily focused on speed and strength training, the academy’s new soccer club is its first foray into a specific team sport.