Buenos dias

Argentinian Andy Schonbaum shot up the leaderboard by shooting a 7-under 64 on Friday to go from tied for 28th to a fourway tie for fifth.

Schonbaum, a 28-year-old insurance broker who lives in Cordoba, Argentina, has played his last 27 holes in 11-under par to move into contention.

“I started to play smart,” said Schonbaum, who played college golf at Jacksonville State in Alabama before moving back to Argentina. “The ones where I could go for it, I went for it. The ones that call for you to play smart, I played smart.

“As long as you keep making birdies, you’ve got to keep trusting it, going for it, even though the holes are really hard in the end.”

Schonbaum, one of the oldest players competing at this level, said he was not ready to turn pro out of college for several reasons.

“I didn’t want to live in the U.S. at that time,” he said. “I didn’t want to turn pro because I wanted to make money on one side and on the other side enjoy golf. Nowadays, as an amateur, you’ve got a lot of competitive golf. This is like a pro event.”

Schonbaum described the young men he is competing against as “gods” and admitted he has his work cut out for him today.

“I’ve been around for more time, so maybe I can use my experience and think better,” he said.

Schonbaum is coming off a second-place finish three weeks ago at the George L. Coleman Invitational at Juno Beach, Fla. Before that, he reached the semifinals of the Argentine Amateur Championship in February. He was the runner-up in that event in 2016.

His best U.S. finish came last year when he reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Mid-Amateur in Parker, Colo.

“I’ve been playing better,” Schonbaum said. “Even though I haven’t practiced as much, because I have to work, I’m working on my weaknesses for these big tournaments.”

Schonbaum said it took a while for him to feel comfortable on the Founders Course, where water comes into play on about half the holes.

“There’s a lot to analyze, in my opinion,” he said.

Schonbaum tied for low round of the tournament on Friday. Colorado State’s A.J. Ott, who started the day at 1 over, also posted a 7 under to move into a tie for ninth at 6 under.

Ott’s round of eight birdies and one bogey included four birdies on the par-35 front nine, which has played about a half stroke tougher than the back nine.