NEWTON — Things weren’t looking too great for former St. John’s Prep star Chris Francoeur early on in the second round of the 54th Ouimet Memorial Tournament at Charles River Country Club on Thursday, but after making four birdies — including three on the back nine — the University of Louisville golfer managed to recover and take a one-shot lead into the final day of the tournament.
Francoeur, who is the defending champion at this event, shot a 1-under 69 on Thursday, putting him at 4-under 136 for the tournament following his 3-under 67 in the first round.
After making bogey on three of his first five holes Thursday, Francoeur found himself slipping down the leaderboard. But a birdie on the par-4 sixth hole righted the ship, and three straight pars helped him make the turn in 37 strokes. Sitting at 2-over on the 12th tee box, Francoeur made birdie on the 12th before notching back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes — both of them par-5s. He closed with two straight pars to finish the back nine in 32 strokes and shoot consecutive rounds in red figures.
Only one other local golfer made the 36-hole cut at the Ouimet, with Swampscott native and 2019 Massachusetts Amateur champion Steven DiLisio (Salem Country Club) shooting a second-round score of 3-over 73 to grab a tie for 28th place at 8-over for the tournament.
It was a pretty slow start to the day for DiLisio, who made three bogeys on the front nine to make the turn in 38 strokes. The Duke University senior then made back-to-back birdies on the 13th and 14th holes to get back to 1-over for the day, but bogeys on the 16th and 17th put him at 3-over 73 for the round and 8-over 148 for the tournament.
Swampscott natives and brothers Christian and Aidan Emmerich fell just below the cut line, with Aidan Emmerich shooting a two-day score of 77-74-151 and Christian Emmerich shooting a two-day score of 73-82-155.
The final round of the 54th Ouimet Memorial Tournament is set for Friday at Woodland Golf Club. Francoeur will tee off in the final group at 11:51 a.m., while DiLisio will tee off at 8:55 a.m..