Mountain State Golf Classic: Carpenter takes two-shot lead into Monday's championship round
Eleven Players Within Six shots of the Tournament Lead
Pipestem - Sunday on day two of the Mountain State Golf Classic, red numbers were plentiful throughout the field at Pipestem State Park.
First round leader Josh Carpenter went under-par for the second day in a row, but still has a number of contenders nipping at his heels.
Carpenter recorded a 70 (2-under) in round two, moving him to 6-under par for the tournament, two shots ahead of Chris Daniels in second place.
The day was a little bittersweet for Carpenter who had his round to 4-under par before running into trouble on the final hole of the day.
"The double (bogey) on 18 is never a fun way to finish, but if you had told me to start the day that I would shoot 70, I would have taken it and never put a tee in the ground," Carpenter said.
Prior to the mishap on No. 18, Carpenter had been the picture of consistency making 27 pars and eight birdies, combined, for the first two rounds.
"It is just an uncomfortable tee shot for my ball flight," Carpenter said about No. 18. "I was laying back with a hybrid and pulled it into the trees and it spit it left into the other fairway. I was dead over there. The most irritating part about the hole was I managed to give myself a six or seven foot putt for bogey and did not make that one."
"I played really well," Carpenter went on to say. "I was solid on the short puts, so that is always a good feeling. I took advantage of the par-5's, that is where the birdies came from. I was thrilled with how I played through 17 for sure."
Carpenter's group was red-hot all day with Josh Arbaugh shooting 5-under par and Brandon Tinney close behind at 4-under par.
Arbaugh was 2-over par for the tournament starting the day and quickly moved back to even par with two birdies in the first four holes. Unfortunately for the Nicholas County graduate, two bogeys and a par on the attack-able par-5, 9th-hole left him back to square one.
"I had a couple of bad breaks on nine and kind of upset that I made par, but anytime you move to the next nine holes, you kind of reset," Arbaugh said.
With Carpenter still making birdies and Tinney 4-under par for his first nine hole, Arbaugh knew it was go-time.
"Obviously with the guy that has been the best golfer of the (tournament) in your group, you kind of see what you need to do. I told myself that I had to get moving now or I was going to be a bunch back," Arbaugh said. "There wasn't anything going on to make me think I was going to play the back nine like I did, but you just have to keep your head down and keep playing. You never know when it will switch."
After a solid par on No. 10, the golf gods returned the favor on hole 11 and Arbaugh started rolling.
"I got a good break on 11 (par-4) landing (my tee shot) between the bunkers on the fringe," Arbaugh explained. "You make that birdie and you know you have a drive-able 12th-hole and a get-able (par-5) 13th. Making the first (birdie) you feel like you can get something going, but you don't typically see four in a row coming. It was nice."
Four straight birdies and a bird on No. 16 moved Arbaugh into championship contention.
"I have played a lot of tournament golf and have been competitive, so I kind of know what to expect," Arbaugh said about Monday. "Things can change in the blink of an eye. You just have to grind it out and stay committed to the routine."
Reigning 2025 West Virginia Senior Amateur champion Chris Daniels finished with a 69 and is two-shots back of Carpenter, followed by Arbaugh and 2017 champion Landon Perry, three shots behind the leader.
Perry shot the low round of the day with a 65 and is one shot ahead of Lindy Sullivan. Jack Williams shot 73 and is 2-under for the tournament tied with Sullivan.
David Cassis is alone in 7th-place at 1-under par, while Tinney, Jerod Ewing, Dennis Fox and Timmy Boggs are at even-par, tied for 8th-place.
The championship round will be contested Monday on the Cobb Course at The Resort at Glade Springs.
