Dickerson leads by four at halfway in Henrico County

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GLEN ALLEN, Va. -- Two weeks ago, Bubba Dickerson turned in his belly putter for one of regular size while Henrik Bjornstad went the opposite way, changing his regular putter for a belly putter. The switching has paid early dividends for both as the pair hold down first and second place at the halfway mark of the Henrico County Open, the eighth stop on the 2008 Nationwide Tour schedule.

Bubba Dickerson is leading the field in putting through two rounds. (Gardner/WireImage)

Inside the Numbers

Dickerson thru 36 Holes

Category Total Rank Eagles 0 N/A Birdies 17 1 Pars 16 72 Bogeys 3 T41 Double Bogeys 0 N/A Other 0 N/A Driving Accuracy 75.0% T16 Driving Distance 282.8 yds. T19 Greens in Regulation 72.2% T18 Putts per Round 24.5 T1 Putts per GIR 1.423 1 Sand Saves 100.0% T1

Dickerson has carded rounds of 62-68 at The Dominion Club to separate himself from the pack in the Nationwide Tour's $500,000 event. His 14-under-par 130 total is four better than his previous career best and also four in front of Norway's Bjornstad (66-68), the 36-hole leader in this event a year ago.

Bret Guetz matched Friday's lowest round with a 6-under 66 and is tied with Roger Tambellini (70) at 9 under par. Matt Hansen (67), Scott Gutschewski (66), Chris Riley (70), Keoke Cotner (70), Wade Ormsby (67), Bryan DeCorso (68), Greg Chalmers (68), Kris Blanks (67), Gary Christian (67) and Brad Fritsch (70) share fifth place at 8-under 136.

Dickerson is only the second player in the tournament's 16-year history to hold the outright lead after both the first and second rounds. Brian Tennyson was similarly in charge in 1999 but finished tied for fourth place.

"I probably hit the ball as well as I did yesterday," said Dickerson after hitting 11 of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens. "I seemed to be in between clubs a lot today."

Dickerson picked up in round two right where he left off in round one, making plenty of birdies. The 26-year old Floridian holed a four-foot birdie putt on his opening hole to set the tone. He would make five more in his next dozen holes to reach 15 under par, and has 17 after two days to lead the tournament. His lead reached six shots at one point in the morning, but settled at four after closing his day on the front nine with four consecutive pars.

"Obviously, 14 under on this golf course is pretty good golfing," said Dickerson, who holds the 36-hole lead for only the second time in his career. "There's a lot of rough out there and I've been lucky enough to keep it out. I've hit a lot of good shots and I'm making some putts."

Bjornstad is doing his best to keep Dickerson from running away from the field. The 28-year-old from Oslo is keeping pace by hitting plenty of fairways and making his share of putts, though none of his five birdies Friday came from outside of 10 feet.

"I've been hitting the ball a lot better than I did last year," said Bjornstad, who made only 11 of 24 cuts and finished No. 78 on the money list. "My putting is also getting to where I want it."

Bjornstad, now living in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., has been solid on the greens, thanks to his new club.

"I feel like I start the ball better on the line and that eliminates one thought," he said. "It's only aim and pace after that."

A total of 72 players made the 36-hole cut, which came at 2-under 142.

Second-Round News & Notes: Due to a scheduled 4:00 p.m. ET finish time on the weekend for television, both the third and fourth rounds will be played in threesomes off the 1st and 10th tees. ... Lift, clean and place rules were in effect for the second straight day. ... Bubba Dickerson leads the tournament with 17 birdies. ... Bubba Dickerson's four-stroke lead matches the biggest in tournament history -- Notah Begay (1998), Jeff Burns (2006). ... Seven of the top-10 money-winners played this week and two of them made the cut -- No. 4 Aron Price (142); No. 9, Greg Owen (137) made the cut. Those missing the cut were No. 1 Jarrod Lyle (144), No. 2 Ewan Porter (143), No. 3 Darron Stiles (148), No. 6 Matthew Every (144) and No. 10 Tee McCabe (152). ... Casey Wittenberg has posted rounds of 70-70-140 and is now 8-for-8 in cuts made this season. Wittenberg leads the Tour in total birdies this year with 105 to date. Greg Chalmers is second in total birdies with 98. ... D.A. Points had two eagles Friday, both on par 5s, Nos. 2 and 18. ... Danny Ellis withdrew during the round due to an injury. ... Players who were bogey-free in round two: Ian Leggatt (67), Rich Barcelo (68). ... Friday's scoring average was 71.548.