GLENCOE, Illinois – Wells Williams and William Sides are matching each other shot-for-shot at the 123rd Western Amateur, sitting tied atop the leaderboard at 7-under par after 36 holes at Skokie Country Club.

The decorated amateurs followed up their first-round 64s with matching 1-under 69s on Wednesday, leading the way as the field was cut to the low 44 players and ties. Williams is a Vanderbilt senior ranked No. 14 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Sides, a senior at SMU, is ranked No. 50.

The cut fell at even-par 140, with 51 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 7 a.m., with the fourth round scheduled to start at 12 p.m.

Resources: Full Leaderboard | Third- and Fourth-Round Pairings

Tennessee commit Tyler Watts and Auburn’s Josiah Gilbert are just one shot behind Williams and Sides at 6-under par. The 17-year-old Watts, ranked No. 40, opened the championship with a course-record 62 on Tuesday but followed it with a 2-over 72 in the second round. Gilbert, ranked No. 12, backed up his 4-under 66 with a steady 68 on Wednesday to remain firmly in contention.

Gilbert overcame a shaky start that included two bogeys, battling alongside the 156-player field through rain, wind and fading daylight. The Millbrook, Alabama, native closed with a 4-under back nine to climb the leaderboard.

“I got off to a slow start but kept my head in it,” Gilbert said. “I knew the back was where I could make up some shots, and I hit the ball really, really well. I grew up in the wind, so I tried to use that to my advantage.”

Oklahoma State’s Eric Lee (No. 35) and Oregon State commit Nguyen Anh Minh (No. 42) are tied for fifth at 5-under.

Four players share seventh place at 4-under, while five others sit four shots off the lead in a tie for 11th at 3-under.

The low round of the day came from Ole Miss senior Cameron Tankersley, who fired a 5-under 65 to vault into the top 20 after opening with a 3-over 73 that left him in a tie for 100th.

“I just knew coming into this tournament I had some good in my game,” Tankersley said. “It didn’t really show yesterday, but I stayed positive throughout the night and happened to play well today.”

Tankersley’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the 485-yard, par-4 17th, where he holed out from 192 yards with a 7-iron.

“I hit it down the right side of the fairway and had a little downwind off the left to help me,” he said. “Right when I hit it, I was like, ‘Please be good.’ I didn’t know it went in until I got up to the green. It was pretty cool.”

Nine players ranked inside the top 20 of the WAGR – including five 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 Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

The Western Amateur is one of golf’s most demanding events, combining grueling stroke play with intense match play. A field of 156 players will compete in 72 holes of stroke play over three days to determine the Sweet 16 for 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.