Carthage, N.C. – Jason Kokrak of Warren, OH has long been known as one of developmental tour golf's longest players. You hit 5-iron to the green? Jason probably hit 8-iron. In 2010, his short game has matched his prodigious length and the former Xavier University star is enjoying the best season of his young professional career. Rounds of 63-66—129 in the tour's Bushnell Championship have him knocking on victory's door yet again with just 36 holes left to play.

This week marks the second playing of the tour's Bushnell Championship, contested at Little River Resort and co-host Southern Pines Golf Club. After the completion of 36 holes, the final two rounds will be contested solely at Little River.

Kokrak, who opened with a 9-under 63 at Little River on Wednesday, arrived at the short Southern Pines Golf Club on Thursday morning knowing that low round was possible on the classic Donald Ross-designed layout.

"I wanted to play from the fairway because you have to out here," said Kokrak, who told pro shop staff members about the potential to drive four greens prior to his round. "There is some deep rough on this course, but I still hit drivers where I could."

Through seven holes, and at only 1-under on his round, Kokrak found the going tough as the towering pines at Southern Pines caught some early tee shots and left a few pars as a rewarding achievement. Birdies at Nos. 8 and 9 would allow him to turn at 3-under 32 and set up quite the roller coaster for his closing nine.

A birdie on the par-4 12th would be offset with a bogey at the arduous par-3 14th, and then the fun would start on the par-5 15th.

"I smoked a drive on 15 and wound up with 130 into a par-5, which is unreal," said Kokrak. "From there, I hit a little gap wedge to 12 feet and made it up the hill for eagle."

The eagle would move him to 5-under as he approached the drive-able par-4 16th with the option of possibly leaving driver in the bag.

"On 16, I knew coming in that I would hit a driver over the green because I did that in the practice round." said Kokrak of the 310-yard hole. "So I ended up hitting a 3-wood and it landed about 12 feet short of the hole and rolled another 2 feet, so it actually could have been a lot closer."

When Kokrak poured in the eagle at 16, it seemed as if the sky was the limit with two short par-4s to go, but an untimely double-bogey at the otherwise-benign 17th left much to be desired for a player coming off of back-to-back eagles.

"On 17 I was playing for a flyer from the right rough and it didn't fly. My approach clipped a tree and dropped straight down," said the 25-year-old Kokrak. "After that, a bad wedge shot left me a long way from the hole and I three-putted. It was a bit tough to swallow at that point."

Regardless of the rough finish, Kokrak's second-round 66 put him one clear of the field as he attempts to pick up his second win of the 2010 season. At the Cabarrus Classic in March, he posted rounds of 69-69-69-66—273 to claim his first career eGolf Tour title.

In 2008, Kokrak made just eight of 15 cuts on tour, but took advantage of his good weeks with two top-3 finishes in a three-tournament stretch in May of that year. His consistency developed a bit more in 2009 when he made seven of 10 cuts. In 2010, he is seven for seven in cuts made with four top-10 finishes including the win. The leading money winner for most of the season, Kokrak's game has finally matured to the point where his short game is just as lethal as his wedge game. Perhaps not in the ball striking sense, but rather in the strategy used inside 100 yards.

Chesson Hadley"I've got a good wedge game for how far I hit, I just have to keep it in the fairway," said Kokrak, who has made 300-yard drives routine since his college years. "I've always been a good wedge player; I'm just finally now learning how to put it on the right part of the green. I don't necessarily try to hit it to a foot each time; I just try to put it on the right side of the pin."

With two rounds to play at Little River, Kokrak likes his chances and his ability to better utilize his length on the 7,000-yard Dan Maples-designed course.

"The fairways are a little wider over there, so that's in my favor. It plays to my advantage because the course is longer so I can hit much shorter shots into the holes," said a confident Kokrak. "On some of the par-5s, I can hit a hybrid off the tee to make it a three-shot hole and play it normal if I want."

Making his second career eGolf Tour start this week, Chesson Hadley is just three weeks removed from finishing a decorated collegiate career at Georgia Tech. The Raleigh, NC native finished T4 at the NCAA Championship as a freshman after not competing in a single event during the Yellow Jackets' fall campaign. First-team All American honors would follow during his sophomore season, and in April of this year, he captured the ACC Championship Individual Title at the Old North State Club in Badin, NC.

Cameron YanceyWith rounds of 64-66—130 this week, Hadley is alone in second place, trailing Kokrak by a single shot at the tournament's halfway point. At last week's Bolle Classic, Hadley put together rounds of 65-69-68-66—268 in what can best be described as a "welcome-to-professional-golf" moment as his 16-under total netted a T10 finish. Tommy Biershenk, the tournament winner, set an eGolf Tour 72-hole record with his winning score of 26-under 258.

First-round co-leader Cameron Yancey of Blackstone, VA struggled early in his attempt to back up a 9-under 63 carded at Little River just one day prior. At even par through 14 holes, the former PGA TOUR player would go on to finish eagle-birdie-bogey-birdie to make up for some of the ground lost with a 3-under 68.

The 36-hole cut fell at 4-under 139, with 78 players making it through to the final two rounds at Little River. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.