Seth Reeves has played two days of great golf to hold the lead at the halfway point of the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by Synnex.

Now to the big story at this year’s Korn-Ferry Tour stop at Carolina Country Club and Thornblade Club.

In a year when. with all due respect and complete understanding of how difficult it is to get celebrities and with full appreciation of the celebrities who come to the Upstate, none of them are as big a celebrity as Bill Haas.

Haas is playing in the tournament with a sponsor’s exemption, and after 36 holes he is tied with two other golfers for second place.

He carded a solid 5-under par 67 in the first round at Carolina and followed it up with an 8-under par 63 (par 71) at Thornblade to move up to a tie for second.

His two-day total of 128 did not include a single bogey ,

Playing at Thornblade is playing at home for the 42-year-old PGA Tour pro.

His father Jay, one of the most respected PGA Tour professionals, was an important member of the development group that built the course, which opened in 1988.

Growing up on the course, Haas must have played Thornblade a couple of thousand times.

As a junior, he won a state high school individual championship playing at Riverside High School. He set the state’s individual championship scoring record, a record that stood up for almost 20 years.

Before following his father to Wake Forest, Haas won the South Carolina Amateur.

At Wake he won every award a college golfer can win. He was a three-time first team All-American and ended his college career with the Haskins, Hogan and Nicklaus awards and 10 individual tournament wins.

His professional career started in 2006 and up to now has produced six wins, including his amazing win in the 2011 Fed/Ex Cup when he made a par save from the water to go on and win the playoff.

Haas’s status as a tournament winner allows him to play in both PGA Tour and Korn-Ferry Tour events.

An injury suffered a few year’s back has meant Haas has played a very limited schedule. He has played in only four official events this year, including the new Myrtle Beach tournament last month.

Playing on his old home course, Haas sees many people who saw him grow up at Thornblade before he had established himself as a member of the PGA Tour.

” I think when I was super young, for one … I’m definitely still Jay Haas’ son, but I think I was more so that then a little bit.” he said. “And I hadn’t done anything in the game of golf, so there was… it’s not pressure, it’s just that acknowledgment, I guess. For whatever reason, back then maybe I was just young enough where it was just mom and dad I was trying to impress.”,” he added.

Playing the game and the course of his youth will not add pressure, but the idea of playing well in front of what certainly will be one of the bigger followings on the course could.

“Now I think people acknowledge that I’ve played good golf in the past, so certainly don’t want to come here and show up and, you know, really struggle,’ said Haas/

If the next two days are as good as the first two, Haas does not have to worry about outside pressure the Haas fan base will be enthusiastic and supportive of their favorite son in the field.

“I don’t know, there’s that little bit of added pressure that flows into your head a little bit, I really want to do well this week in front of some people that I care about,” concluded Haas.

If Haas was not the really local favorite, former Clemson golfer Billy Kennerly would be a bigger story.

The former Tiger shot a career best 9=under ar 62 to join Haas in a second place tie.

Unfortunately for local golf from the Palmetto State delegation in the event was greatly reduced after the 36 hole cut.

Auburn grad Trace Crowe from Easley is tied for 13th. former Tiger Jonathan Byrd is 25th.

A more recent Clemson grad Kyle Cottom is tried with Winthrop grad Taylor Dickson in 36th place.

Rounding out the local golfers who will play on the weekend are Clemson’s Kyle Stanley and Bryson Nimmer along with Gamecock grad and Greenville resident Keenan Huskey.

Scores and Tee times are at https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/leaderboard

Enjopy some additional tournament sites from the lens of GolfClub photographer Gwinn Davis.