CHICAGO — The second round of the 124th Western Amateur presented by Inspire11 delivered a signature moment on Wednesday.
Auburn's Logan Reilly, of Lovettsville, Virginia, made a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole at The Beverly Country Club en route to a 5-under 66, overtaking the 36-hole lead at 11-under par.
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Reilly has now recorded one in each of his last two tournaments. After making a hole-in-one at the Northeast Amateur in June, he did it again on the 188-yard sixth.
“Hole six is one of the three hardest holes on the course,” said Reilly, who is No. 80 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). “It was a front-tucked left pin, so me and my caddie had the idea to hit a little flighted 6-iron to the right edge of the green and let the wind take it. It literally flew in there and damaged the cup so, executed it pretty well.”
Reilly couldn't see the ball disappear into the hole from the tee, but the reaction around the green told him everything he needed to know.
"Everyone kind of went nuts," Reilly said. "It took a couple of seconds to register, but then everyone realized and got pretty excited. It was really cool."
The ace vaulted Reilly into contention, but his sights are set on much more than advancing to Thursday's final 36 holes of stroke play.
"You have to aim for the medal," Reilly said. "I'm here to try to win stroke play, and then hopefully win match play as well."
One shot back in a tie for second at 10-under par are North Carolina’s Carson Bertagnole, of Pinehurst, North Carolina, and Kayun Mudadana, of Sydney, Australia.
Bertagnole, who held the first-round lead after a 7-under 64, followed with a 3-under 68. Ranked No. 24, he carded four birdies and an eagle — his second of the week.
Mudadana, ranked No. 124 in the world, climbed the leaderboard with a 6-under 65 after opening with a 67. He has made just one bogey through 36 holes and kept his card clean Wednesday with six birdies.
“This week, my ball striking’s been just a little bit better than it has been,” Mudadana said. “I’m trying to keep the ball in the fairway and on the greens and trying to score from there.”
Alone in fourth place is Charlotte’s Seb Cave. After a bogey-free 65 in the opening round, the No. 123-ranked Cave followed with a 3-under 68, highlighted by a hole-out eagle on the 385-yard, par-4 13th.
“I had a good number, about 120 yards playing closer to 125,” Cave said. “It one-hopped, had a bit of spin and went in the cup. I’ve hit a lot of wedges close this week, so it was nice to see one go in.”
Cave was among the players who finished their opening rounds just before play was suspended due to darkness Tuesday night. With a quick turnaround for his Wednesday morning tee time, Cave got right back to work.
“It was nice because it almost felt like a bit of a nap, rather than a full sleep last night,” Cave said. “So, I was able to take momentum from yesterday into today.”
Five players share a tie for fifth at 8-under, which includes No. 5 Miles Russell (Florida State commit), of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, and No. 8 Josiah Gilbert (Auburn), of Millbrook, Alabama.
Other notable players to make the 36-hole cut include: No. 4 Luke Poulter (Florida), of Orlando, who is T-18 at 6-under; No. 2 Tyler Watts (Tennessee commit), of Huntsville, Alabama, and No. 27 Max Herendeen (Illinois), of Champaign, who are T-22 at 5-under; and Brandon Holtz, of Bloomington, Illinois, who is T-32 at 4-under.
The cut fell at 4-under par 138, with 45 players advancing to the final two rounds of stroke play on Thursday.
The top 16 players after 72 holes will move on to the match-play portion of the championship. Third-round tee times begin at 6:50 a.m., with the fourth round scheduled to start at 12 p.m.
Eight players ranked inside the top 20 of the WAGR – including three from the top 10 – advanced past Wednesday’s cut and remain in contention to reach match play, which begins Friday.
First held at Glen View Club in 1899, the Western Amateur is the third-oldest amateur golf championship in the world – trailing only the British Amateur (1885) and the U.S. Amateur (1895). It consistently draws elite amateur talent from around the globe, with past champions including legends like Charles “Chick” Evans, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
The Western Amateur is one of golf’s most demanding events, combining grueling stroke play with intense match play. Following Wednesday’s second round, the 156-player field will be cut to the low 44 players and ties. Those advancing will play 36 holes Thursday, with the top 16 moving on to match play.
Live streaming coverage of the match play rounds will be available on ESPN+, with over 12 hours of broadcast scheduled for Friday, Aug. 1, and Saturday, Aug. 2. Coverage will be available to ESPN+ subscribers via the ESPN app, ESPN.com and connected TV devices. Coverage will also be available in Canada on TSN+, and the Caribbean and Latin America on Disney+.
Attendance and parking at the Western Amateur are free.