68 good enough to give Fritsch share of lead

With Cameron Percy at 13-under after 2 rounds, it was reasonable to think that anyone more than a couple shots back would need to produce fireworks over the weekend to have a chance to win.

But let Saturday's results serve as a lesson. When a tournament involves a 3-course rotation, it's best to not judge the field until everyone has played every course.

Sure enough, Percy stumbled to a 75 at Chanticleer, the toughest course in the rotation all week long. Percy's mediocre round allowed the rest of the field back into the tournament, setting up a Sunday shootout with 18 players within 3 strokes of the lead.

And when the dust cleared, Brad Fritsch found that his 68 at Carolina Club was enough - somehow - to grab a share the 54-hole lead at the BMW Charity Pro-Am.

Fritsch knew going into his round that Carolina Club is the course where you need to score the best. Although a 68 is not going to take anyone by storm, Fritsch was encouraged by solid ball-striking throughout his round. And of course, he can't complain about his position.

"I was really pleased with how I struck the ball all day today," Fritsch said. "I finished bogey-birdie which is not great, but someone told me that I am tied for the lead so that's great."

Fritsch started on hole 10, and he birdied 15 and 16 to make the turn at 2-under. Birdies at 1 and 6 put him at 4-under on the round, and the bogey-birdie finish gave him the 68.

Fritsch was happy with his ability to bounce back from his miscue on 8 with the birdie on 9. He had only an 8-iron on his approach into the short par-5, and his main concern was clearing the water short of the green.

Mission accomplished. Fritsch's approach landed dry about 90 feet from the pin, and two strokes later he was in with a birdie 4.

"That was pretty big," Fritsch said. "I just made sure to get it over the water and go from there."

A par on the short par-5 would have left a bitter taste in Fritsch's mouth, especially with the way he bogeyed the par-3 8th. Fritsch landed his tee shot 30 feet from the hole, but he left himself with a tricky putt. His first putt ran five feet past the hole, and he missed the one coming back.

But according to Fritsch, the tee shot led to the bogey, rather than the putter.

"It was a putt that was up and over a ridge and it probably broke about five feet, left to right," Fritsch said. "I didn't hit a great shot to set up a putt, so I wasn't too upset about it. My first putt was pretty good. I just missed the next one."

Despite the late bogey, Fritsch is happy to be in contention going into Sunday. The native Canadian already has two top-10 finishes on the season, and another high finish would move him closer to a spot on the PGA Tour next season. The top 25 money winners at the end of the season will receive PGA Tour cards for 2013, and Fritsch currently stands 35th on the money list.

Still, Fritsch knows he needs to go low Sunday if he wants to notch his first Nationwide Tour victory.

"I would not be surprised if someone shot a seven or eight under from well back," Fritsch said. "There's a chance for some low rounds out there tomorrow."