Brendan Steele says he feels no different to how he did on Thursday when he equalled the course record with a 63 in his opening round at the Frys.com Open.
Friday's round, though, cost him seven extra shots. Thankfully what didn't change was his position on the leaderboard.
Steele had to settle for pars on the closing three holes at Silverado that tend to produce birdies, giving him a 2-under 70 on a course getting firmer and featuring much stronger pin positions.
But all that mattered was a two-shot lead going into the weekend.
"I expected today to be tough," said Steele, who was at 11-under 133.
"And it's always tough to follow up a round like yesterday with anything even under par.
"I think we've seen guys over the years follow 63 up usually with something around par. If you can go lower than that, you probably have a pretty good-sized lead."
He'll take the two-shot margin over Will Wilcox (67), Jhonattan Vegas (71), Graham DeLaet (68) and Harold Varner III, who missed a 10-foot birdie on his final hole that would have put him in the final group in his rookie debut on the PGA Tour.
Varner had a 70.
One thing didn't change for Rory McIlroy. He can't seem to make a putt.
McIlroy, the No. 3 in the world, shot 71 and was six shots behind. Considering how many putts he missed, it felt like an even greater margin.
"Not to be able to break 70 today is quite disappointing," he said.
His only two birdies were on par 5s where he missed putts for eagles. And he ended his round by missing a birdie putt from just outside 12 feet, a familiar sight for him over two days at Silverado.
"I think it's more mental than anything else," McIlroy said.
"Whenever you don't see anything go in, it makes it harder and harder each and every hole that goes by.
"I don't expect to hole everything but I expect to hole more than I am at the moment."
The cut was set at 2-under 142, and a 54-hole cut was in play for Saturday because 81 players advanced to the weekend.
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