GUADALAJARA, Mexico—Playing at Atlas Country Club, a venue where he has been extremely successful in the past, José de Jesús Rodríguez is looking like he will be a tough player to beat this weekend. The 41-year-old Korn Ferry Tour player carded a bogey-free 67 Friday to secure the halfway lead at the Jalisco Open Guadalajara. He’s at 9-under 133 and holds a one-shot lead over U.S. players Kevin Velo and Brendon Doyle,

Both, Rafael Echenique of Argentina and Myles Creighton of Canada shot 67 Friday to move into a tie for the fourth spot, at 7-under. Four other players trail by three in a tie for sixth.

“It was a very productive day in which I struck the ball nicely. I had my chances to go lower, but I missed three short birdie putts. Anyway, I’m very pleased about how I’m striking the ball,” said Rodríguez, who claimed PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Player of the Year honors in 2017.

In a tie for second after an opening 66, Rodríguez got off to sort of a slow start. He shot 1-under on the front, making only one birdie, on No. 5. “The putts were not dropping early, but I stayed calm throughout the front. On the back, I managed to be more aggressive, and it made a difference for me,” he said of a day he rounded out with birdies on 10, 12 and 15.

Rodríguez could have been playing the Korn Ferry Tour’s NV5 Invitational in Chicago this week, but he had to skip it because of an appointment for his U.S. visa renewal. “With this PGA TOUR Latinoamérica tournament in Mexico, this seemed like a perfect opportunity for me to stay active and play,” he said of the tournament only three hours from his hometown of Irapuato.

A pairing partner of Rodríguez the first two days, Velo caught fire Friday to produce the low round of the tournament, his 7-under 64. Coming off an opening 70, the 25-year-old who holds the seventh spot in the Totalplay Cup standings recorded six birdies and one eagle to move within one of the lead.

“It was an awesome day,” said Velo, who shot 64 or better for the third time this PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season. That includes a course record-setting, 10-under 62 during the second round of the Quito Open. He ultimately finished fourth three weeks ago in Ecuador.

“I love chasing, which is great, and I’m only one back with tons of golf to play. Playing against El Camarón is going to be a fun weekend,” added Velo, who will be paired Saturday with Rodríguez for the third consecutive day. They will be joined by Doyle in the last group, teeing off at 12:10 p.m. local time Saturday.

Doyle earned his spot in the final grouping by carding a 66 in the morning wave.

Starting in the second group off No. 10 at 7:50 a.m., Doyle held the clubhouse lead for a large portion of the day.

“I played really solid today. I made some putts when I started out. I birdied 10 and 12 and got a little momentum. I just hit the ball really good all day. I gave myself a lot of opportunities, and the putts were falling,” he said of a round in which he made six birdies and only one bogey.

Did you know José de Jesús Rodríguez is one of five players who have won four times to share the record for the most career victories on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica? The other four are his countryman Rodolfo Cazaubón, American Michael Buttacavoli and the Argentine duo of Julián Etulain and Jorge Fernández Valdés.

Key Information

The cut came at 1-under 141, with 58 players qualifying for the weekend.

John Hill recorded an ace Friday morning at the scenic 14th, a downhill, 211-yard par-3. “I was sitting there on the ledge waiting for the group ahead of us to finish. I just thought it’s such a cool hole to make a hole-in-one. Obviously, you never think it’s going to happen, and honestly, when I hit the shot I forgot that I had thought about that because you don’t think about that. Then it happened. It was pretty cool because you can see everything (from the tee box), so high above the green, you just watch it roll into the cup. It was pretty fun,” said Hill, who had 192 yards to the pin and played a 160-yard shot with a pitching wedge. The ball landed on the green, about six feet short and rolled in.

John Hill was coming off a bogey on 13 when he made his ace on 14. Then he birdied the 15th and had a double bogey on 16. “It was a lot of up and downs. I just tried to gather myself to make two pars in the last two holes,” he said of his rollercoaster finish to shoot 69 for the second consecutive day. He will enter the weekend tied for 17th (4-under).

There were 38 Mexicans playing this week, six of them amateurs. The following are the scores and positions of the 12 who made the cut:

All eight 2022 tournament champions are in action this week, and the only one who did not advance to the weekend was Guatemala’s José Toledo. Leading the way is Kevin Velo, who shot 7-under 64 to tie for second. Here are where the 2022 champions stack up after two days.

Eight of the players who entered the week ranked inside the Totalplay Cup top-10 will be playing this weekend. This is how the players inside the Totalplay Cup Points List top 10 stand through 36 holes:

Second-Round Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 95. Wind NE at 9-30 mph.