Ninety Six, SC – Through 36 holes of the eGolf Tour's inaugural Grand Harbor Open, former Nationwide Tour players Scott Weatherly and Jesse Mueller find themselves tied atop a stacked leaderboard of top players at 13-under 130. With two rounds still to go, a total of 17 players are within five shots of their lead.

Weatherly, a former Auburn University standout, has posted back-to-back rounds of 65 at both The Patriot Golf Club and The Golf Club at Star Fort, which are serving as hosts of the inaugural event.

Beginning on the first hole of the George Cobb-designed Star Fort course on Thursday, Weatherly birdied Nos. 2 and 3 and would add a third at the par-5 eighth, but it was anything but easy early on.

A good iron game through 36 holes had successfully masked a shaky driver for the Fort Payne, AL native, who cited the ability to recover and scrape out saves as a key for him at the halfway point.

"I felt like today was really good, but I pulled plenty of shots early on," said Weatherly, referencing left-bound shots on Nos. 1 and 2. "Thankfully, I found some fairways after that, hit some good iron shots and made some putts. It was a bit of work."

After turning at 3-under 33, Weatherly birdied 10, 11 and 13 before a bogey at the par-4 14th briefly slowed his momentum. A timely eagle at the par-5 15th more than made up for the hiccup just one hole prior, and elevated Weatherly to 7-under on the round and 13-under for the event. Closing pars on Nos. 16-18 gave him yet another round of 65 in the greater Greenwood, SC area, and put him in contention for a second consecutive event.

Just three weeks ago, Weatherly opened the tour's Cowans Ford Open with a round of 61 and the 18-hole lead. Closing rounds of 71-69-71 left him T12 on the week, but it was nevertheless a positive for Weatherly.

"I had been struggling for a while in tournaments to shoot real low numbers," said Weatherly. "That 61 gave me the confidence to know that I can still do it, I can go low. It seemed prior to that that my good rounds would be 67 or 68 – out here, you need to go lower."

Jesse MuellerIf an errant driver is the ailment, then the Davis Love III-designed Patriot Golf Club might as well be the cure. Generous fairways – a Love design trait – highlight a hidden gem that often lures the player into taking unforeseen risks. Weatherly is well aware of what the course presents, and is getting comfortable on the Bermuda grass greens that often torment players with grain and deception.

"The course gives you a lot to play with, so hopefully I can hit a few more fairways," said Weatherly. "To be honest, I never liked Bermuda greens growing up, but I've finally gotten comfortable on them, so hopefully that will help a bit tomorrow."

Mueller, the tournament's first-round leader after a stellar 61 at The Club at Star Fort on Wednesday, pulled off the difficult feat of following up a course record with another good round on Thursday. A second-round 69 at The Patriot gave Mueller a share of the 36-hole lead in the $235,000 event.

After beginning on the closing nine with a 2-under 33, Mueller made the turn to No. 1 at The Patriot and watched as the birdie train came to a screeching halt. An outward nine (his inward) of one birdie, one bogey and seven pars left much to be desired for Mueller, who had recorded 13 birdies and an eagle in his first 27 holes this week.

Alex HamiltonA former Arizona State University star, Mueller is making the first start of his eGolf Tour career this week after playing various mini-tours in the Arizona desert for the majority of the season. With four wins under his belt in 2010 alone, Mueller is looking to keep the good play up with two rounds left to be played this week.

Tour rookie Christopher Ross (Ontario, Canada) and tour stalwart Alex Hamilton (Aiken, SC) are tied for third at 12-under 131, just one shot behind Weatherly and Mueller.

Ross, who finished college golf at Eastern Michigan University last year, is playing in just his third eGolf Tour event of the season and has bogey-free rounds of 66-65 under his belt thus far on the week.

For Hamilton, playing in Ninety Six feels a little bit like being home this week. After growing up in Aiken and playing collegiate golf at nearby University of South Carolina, Hamilton is in position to claim the second eGolf Tour title of his career this week with rounds of 65-66—131. Much like Ross, Hamilton has yet to card a single bogey through 36 holes, with 10 birdies and an eagle to his credit.

Hamilton, the 2004 South Carolina Amateur champion, earned conditional status on the Nationwide Tour this season, but has only one start under his belt (a missed cut at the BMW Charity Pro-Am two weeks ago). After winning the 2006 Rock Hill Invitational on tour, the laidback Hamilton has played steady golf, but is still eyeing that second win.

Third-round play in the Grand Harbor Open will begin at 7:30 AM on Friday morning at The Patriot. The 36-hole cut fell at 3-under 140 with 76 players making it through to the final 36 holes. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.