SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A day after earning the first co-lead of his Korn Ferry Tour career, Austin Smotherman recorded a second-round 3-under 69 to attain his first solo lead in his 36th start. The Dallas native leads four players by two strokes entering the third round.

Smotherman tallied two birdies at the third and fourth holes to jumpstart his round but fell back to even-par after bogeys at the seventh and 10th. He rebounded with birdies on 14, 16 and 18 for a 69 and a 9-under tally through 36 holes.

“Getting out there and getting birdies early is always nice,” said Smotherman. “Especially on the two that I birdied, I birdied the long par-3 over the water and then the long par-4 and I hit it to three feet and two feet. And that was kind of the case for me on my birdies today, except my last one.”

The 24-year-old capped his round with a 15-foot birdie putt at the 18th. He has played Nos. 16-18 in 5-under over the first two rounds.

“I’m just enjoying the process and forgetting about the outcome right now,” said Smotherman. “I’m not trying to force shots. When I hit it to two or three feet, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’m staring the pin down. Like the shot on 16 today, it was 175 yards downwind, which is just a rip 9-iron for me. And I hit it to three feet past it. But I was never really looking to feed it over the right side there. I just want to keep thinking my way around the course.”

Smotherman is a former teammate of PGA TOUR pros Bryson DeChambeau and Harry Higgs while at Southern Methodist University. In his rookie season last year, Smotherman made less than half of his cuts but two top-10s (including a T3 in Prattville, Alabama) helped him retain full status on Tour. While he has not yet recorded a top-10 this season, he has now made seven of 11 cuts and notched three top-25s.

San Antonio resident Roberto Diaz is one of the four players tied at 7-under, two strokes back of Smotherman. He joins Derek Ernst, Paul Barjon and Max McGreevy at T2 through 36 holes.

Diaz carded six birdies during a bogey-free round on Thursday, one of six flawless scorecards on the day. The 66 was a pleasant surprise after an eye-opening first hole.

“After the start I had, today was amazing; I had the worst shot of my career on the first hole,” laughed Diaz. “I topped it from the middle of the fairway into the rocks. It bounced back out and I got up and down for par which was good. But the next couple of holes I was very hesitant. After topping one it’s always in the back of your mind.”

Third-round tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Friday off of the first and 10th tees.