Kannapolis, NC – South African Trevor Fisher took a look at the chilling temperatures and impending World Cup in his native country and decided it was time for a change of scenery. With a fellow countryman headed to the United States to play this summer, Fisher decided he would go along for the ride. Through 36 holes of the eGolf Tour's Southern Open, that decision looks fairly wise as Fisher has rounds of 65-65—130 under his belt and a two-shot lead heading into Friday's third round of the 72-hole event.

Trevor FisherFisher, making his fourth start on tour since coming over in mid-May, began the second round of the $233,847 event in a tie for second place following a first-round 65 at tournament co-host Warrior Golf Club on Wednesday. Trailing overnight leader Colton Turnquist by a single shot, Fisher got right to work at tournament host The Club at Irish Creek on Thursday and was able to pick up right were he left off.

Birdies at Nos. 2, 3 and 6 moved Fisher to 9-under on his round and to the top of the early-morning leaderboard. A mid-round six-hole stretch of pars was offset by a trio of birdies on 13-15 to push him to 6-under for the day, where he would eventually finish with a second straight 65. His 12-under 130 total put him two shots clear of the 203-player field.

Entering the week, Fisher's best finish on the year came at the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn, where rounds of 67-68-70-69—274 netted a T16 result. His good play in the greater Charlotte area this week is the result of a stout long game that has allowed him to pick and choose his spots over the course of 36 holes.

"I'm hitting the ball quite well this week, for a change. It's nice to have a bit of control over where the ball is going," said Fisher, who has yet to card a single bogey through two rounds. "I just have two swing thoughts in my head, so if I'm able to keep my rhythm, it's easier to just focus on fairways and greens."

Fisher's round of 65 could have been lower had it not been for a somewhat balky putter. Two of his six birdies came via two putts, and when you hit every green, thoughts tend to drift even lower on the scorecard.

"I actually left a few out there today and yesterday. I hit 18 greens in regulation today, so with 18 birdie putts you're going to sink at least six of them," Fisher said after his round.

Ironically, while this marks his first trip to the United States as a professional, Fisher has spent time here in the past, albeit briefly. As one of the top junior players in South Africa, Fisher agreed to come to the U.S. and play for Paris (TX) Junior College in hopes of transferring to one of the larger universities after his freshman year. That experiment lasted just two months as Fisher, in his own words, said "Paris, Texas just wasn't for me."

While surely a nice area just two hours northeast of Fort Worth, Fisher isn't the first or last person to utter those words.

His second trip was inspired by an onslaught of the surprisingly cold South African winter and a lack of playing opportunities due to the festivities surrounding the World Cup.

"With the World Cup going on in South Africa, and it being winter down there, there really wasn't a whole lot going on," said the 31-year-old Fisher. "I knew (fellow South African) Tyrone Mordt was coming over here, so I just jumped on the bandwagon and came along for the ride. Everyone said to come play the eGolf Tour, so here we are."

Coming to the United States, Fisher was no stranger to big-time golf back home. After leaving Paris, TX in 2003, the Johannesburg native decided to turn pro and won in his very first start at the Sunshine Tour's FNB Botswana Open. The win in Botswana would be the first of four on the tour formerly known as the South African Tour. But with his success came the thought that maybe it was time to take his game elsewhere.

"I've always wanted to come play here and really test my game, and so far so good," said Fisher. "Over here, you really have to go low every round. You can't get away with a round of even par like you can sometimes back home."

Fisher's point is well taken as the last three eGolf Tour events have featured an average winning score of nearly 23-under.

For a long time, the biggest burden for South Africans coming to play in the United States was the currency exchange and the weakness of the rand. The ratio, rand-to-dollar, has traditionally hovered around 10-to-1, but has recently come down to 7.5-to-1, thus making the opportunity a bit more possible.

Matt Hendrix"It's expensive to come over here and play. If you don't have sponsors or someone helping you out, it can be tough," said Fisher, who finished fourth at the prestigious Africa Open in January of this year. "I'm fortunate to be in a situation where it's manageable, but it can be difficult to save up enough money just to get started."

Trailing Fisher by two shots is former PGA TOUR player Matt Hendrix of Greenville, SC. Hendrix, who opened with a 6-under 65 at Irish Creek on Wednesday, struggled to get much going in his second round at Warrior with a birdie, a bogey and seven pars on his outward nine. Birdies on the first four holes of his closing nine salvaged an otherwise slow round and allowed the former Clemson Tiger "All American" to post a second-round 67 and move into solo second.

Hendrix, who played the TOUR full time in 2007, is still eyeing his first eGolf Tour win after notching three runner-up finishes during the 2009 season. In 10 starts thus far in 2010, he has only one top-10 finish (T10 – Cabarrus Classic), but has a solid six top-25 finishes.

Todd Murphy, Jeremy Pope and Jhared Hack are tied for third, three shots behind Fisher at 9-under 133 for the event.

Murphy, who spent multiple years caddying on the PGA TOUR for two-time winner and former eGolf Professional Tour player Will MacKenzie, is in his second season on the eGolf Tour, having spent prior years competing on various Arizona-based mini tours. In 2009, his best finish was a T4 at the River Run Championship in August. His best 2010 finish came in his last start at the tour's Bushnell Championship, where rounds of 71-65-70-72—278 left him tied for 35th.

Pope, with rounds of 66-67—133, had the best chance of anyone to catch Fisher atop the leaderboard. The Pawleys Island, SC native had one of the day's best rounds going at Irish Creek before closing bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18 dropped him back into a tie for third. Pope has missed three of five cuts this season, but finished solo fourth at the tour's Championship at St. James Plantation in early April.

Jhared HackFor Hack, putting himself back into contention is a big step for a former amateur star who had been struggling with his game of late. The tour's 2009 Snap Fitness Open champion, Hack had only managed to record one top-10 in eight starts this season on tour – a fourth-place finish at the Savannah Quarters Classic. His second-round 67 at Warrior Golf Club could have been much lower had it not been for a mid-round stretch where he three-putted four times in a five-hole stretch.

Prior to enrolling at the University of Central Florida, Hack pulled off one of the rarest feats in amateur golf. After winning the prestigious Western Junior in 2006, Hack managed to upgrade a level and win the Western Amateur in the summer of 2007 – in turn putting his name on a trophy featuring the likes of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson and Francis Ouimet.

The 36-hole cut fell at 3-under 139 with 65 players making it through to the final two rounds. Friday's third round will begin at 7:30 AM with players competing in threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.

• The tour's cut policy is written as follows: For each 72-hole event in the regular season, the field will be cut to the low 35 percent of the field and ties. If that number results in more than 78 players making the cut, the field for the final two rounds will be reduced to the number of players nearest to 71. If the number of players on both sides of the cut number is equidistant from the cut number itself, the field will not be reduced. All players who make the cut, but do not play the final two rounds, will share the money from the cut off through last place. In turn, all players at 3-under 139 or better will play the final 36 holes. Players who finished 36 holes at 2-under 140 will split places 66-71 on the purse and will be credited with a made cut. Each player will earn $475. All money earned is official.