University of Arkansas senior Julian Perico attacked the Teeth of The Dog course and came away with a three-shot lead and the 36-hole record at the Latin America Amateur Championship in Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic on Friday.
Perico shot a bogey-free 66 in warm and windy conditions and is at 9-under 135 at the halfway point of the 72-hole tournament. The native of Peru, who helped Arkansas to the SEC match play championship as a freshman, played a bogey-free round with six birdies. Perico took advantage of the better scoring conditions in the morning to card one birdie at No. 2 on the front nine and five on the back nine on Nos. 11-14 and the closing 18th when he left an eagle putt a couple of inches short.
Perico led teammate and first-round co-leader Segundo Oliva Pinto, who shot a 72 in a morning round with four birdies and four bogeys after opening with a 66 on Thursday.
Razorbacks are near the top of the leaderboard as junior Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira is tied for eighth at 3 under and redshirt freshman Juan Camilo Vesga is tied for 14th at 1 under.
At one stage midway through the afternoon rounds, Perico, Pinto and Fernandez de Oliveira occupied the top three spots on the leaderboard.
Roberto Nieves of Puerto Rico, who was tied with Pinto for the first-round lead, had a 73 on Friday to fall into a five-way tied for third place at 5 under par.
Arkansas sophomore Manuel Lozada of Argentina dropped back with a 4-over 76 in the tougher scoring conditions but made the cut at 4 over and is tied for 29th.
The tournament winner receives an exemption to play at the Masters and the British Open and into the final qualifying stage for the U.S. Open.