Jorge Fernández Valdés, Michael Johnson share second-round at LECOM Suncoast Classic

Jorge Fernández Valdés and Michael Johnson share the lead at the halfway stage of the LECOM Suncoast Classic, with the duo tied at the top at 12-under.

Charting the co-leaders

Jorge Fernández Valdés (T1/12-under)

• Follows a first-round career-low 10-under 61 with a 2-under 69; ties his second-lowest 36-hole total on the Korn Ferry Tour (130/2023 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH/finished: First)
• Holds the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career in what is his 111th start
• Previous career-high 36-hole position was T2, five times, with the most recent resulting in a victory at the 2023 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH
• Best finish in two previous starts at the LECOM Suncoast Classic is T22/2023 (other: MC/2024)
• Owns two made cuts in six events played this season (best finish: T60/Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club)
• Missed part of the 2024 season due to an injury
• Previously finished No. 31 on the 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, one spot out from earning PGA TOUR membership (top 30 from Points List); entered the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance at No. 24 on the Points List but fell to No. 31 with a T61 finish
• Captured his first career Korn Ferry Tour victory at the 2023 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH, defeating Korn Ferry Tour member Trent Phillips; became the first of two Argentinian winners on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2023 (Alejandro Tosti/Pinnacle Bank Championship)
• A four-time winner on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica; earned Korn Ferry Tour membership via finishing No. 3 in the 2022 Totalplay Cup standings off the strength of three top-10s, including a victory

Michael Johnson (T1/12-under)

• Posts a first-round 7-under 64 followed by 5-under 66 to record a new career-low 36-hole score, totaling 130 through the first two rounds (previous best: 132/three times/2023 HomeTown Lenders Championship, 2018 and 2022 UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH)
• Holds the first 36-hole lead/co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career in what is his 149th start
• Previous career-high 36-hole position was T2 (twice: 2023/Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation/finished T26, 2022/UNC Health Championship presented by STITCH/finished T19)
• Making fourth career start at the LECOM Suncoast Classic (best finish: T17/2019)
• Had made four cuts in seven starts this season (best finish: T13/2025 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard)
• Finished No. 69 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List, earning fully exempt status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season (top 75 from Points List); finished in the top 75 of the Points List for the first time since 2018, when he finished No. 55 in the standings
• Began the 2024 season with conditional status (finishers between Nos. 76-100 from 2023 Korn Ferry Tour Points List) and posted a T6 in the second event of the season, The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club, to climb the priority ranking and play the remainder of the season
• Played five seasons at Auburn University (2011-16), where he was a five-time winner and a First-Team All-American his senior season; tied with Roland Thatcher for most single-season wins (three)

Additional notes

• Second-year member Mark Goetz (third/11-under), who finished No. 98 on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour Points List as a rookie and earned conditional status for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season (finished between 76-100 on the Points List), ties the low round of the day and matches his career-low round in 8-under 63 (other: 2024/Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Hiland Dairy Foods/finished T3).
• Rookie Chase Sienkiewicz (T4/10-under), who earned Korn Ferry Tour membership for the first time by finishing in the Next 25 and Ties at Final Stage of 2024 PGA TOUR Q-School, ties his career-low round on the Korn Ferry Tour in 5-under 66, and establishes a new career-high 36-hole position (previous: T10/2025 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf & Athletic Club/finished T60).
• Four-time Korn Ferry Tour winner Robby Shelton (T4/10-under), who finished No. 141 in the 2024 FexExCup Fall standings on the PGA TOUR, stands inside the top-five of a Korn Ferry Tour event following 36 holes for the first time since the 2022 BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by TD SYNNEX, where he went onto claim his third career victory.
• 18-hole leader Tanner Gore (T4/10-under) follows a first-round career-low 9-under 62 with 1-under 70 to stand inside the top-10 following 36 holes for the third time this season (others: T4/The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club/finished T40, T9/The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island/finished T45).
• First-year member Zach James (T9/9-under) establishes a new career-high 36-hole position (previous: T17/2025 Visa Argentina Open presented by Macro); in seven starts this season, he has made two cuts, highlighted by a T7 finish at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club.
• Rookie Samuel Anderson (T14/8-under) finishes his second round with six consecutive birdies (Nos. 4-9) to tie the longest birdie streak to finish a round in Korn Ferry Tour history; posts 5-under 66 to make his fifth cut in eight starts this season (best finish: T19/2025 Astara Golf Championship presented by Mastercard).
• Seventeen-year-old professional and sponsor exemption Blades Brown (T37/6-under) makes his second consecutive cut on the Korn Ferry Tour in as many starts; finished T41 in his Korn Ferry Tour debut at the 2025 Club Car Championship at The Landings Golf and Athletic Club; joins Si Woo Kim (2013) as the only players in Korn Ferry Tour history to make the cut in multiple events prior to turning 18 years old.
• Monday qualifier Maxwell Moldovan (T52/5-under) makes birdie on No. 9 – his final hole of Round 2 – to make the cut on the number in his Korn Ferry Tour debut.