There’s an old adage that if you look good, and feel good, it normally translates into your performance.

Hunter Thomson is taking that to an entirely new level during the 62nd Northeast Amateur Invitational at Wannamoisett Country Club. He’s led the tournament after each of the first two rounds and it’s evident he’s playing with extreme confidence. A native of Calgary, the 20-year-old stepped onto the first tee, sporting his Team Canada gear from head to toe. After posting a first-round 63 Wednesday, he followed up with a 65 Thursday and is the leader in the clubhouse at 10-under.

When he prepared to travel to Rhode Island, he made sure to pack his finest golf attaire.

“Decided to wear it today,” he said with a smile.

It worked.

He continued to hit fairways, greens and his putting was on point. Thomson continued to climb the leaderboard and separate himself from the field. His last three holes of Round 2 were especially interesting.

After he carded a bogey on No. 16, it seemed like he and his caddie were having a laugh on the next tee box. Thomson admitted after the round that he didn’t remember the moment, but it appeared to be the perfect moment for a bit of comic relief. He crushed his drive to the middle of the fairway on the par-5 and then hit his 3-wood to about 10 feet and dropped the eagle putt, moving to 10-under.

He flew the green on his second shot on No. 18, but he made an impressive up-and-down to save par to secure the lead.

“They were obviously both great, both impressive in different ways,” Thomson said with a smile. “Those last two holes were great and kind of proves where I’m at. It was just a good day. My caddie’s great and he’s been providing some laughs here and there. I’ve done a pretty good job at staying chill the whole time.”

While many of the fans in attendance were following Gordon Sargent, who is the top-ranked amateur in the world, Thomson had a gallery of his own – his parents. They followed the entire round despite the soaring temperatures.

“It’s great,” he said. “I love having my parents here. My mom was at the tournament last week (Sunnehanna), but my dad flew out for this one, so I’m happy they’re both here. It’s good to have the support.”

That support spread throughout the field, including fellow Canadian Garrett Rank, who tied for ninth at 4-under. There are players from all over the world playing in this invitational, but the two Canadians are extremely proud of one another.

“Super proud,” Rank said. “It’s awesome he’s playing great, and I hope he can get the job done. Golf Canada, led by Derek Ingram, has done an exceptional job over the last 10 years developing talent in Canada. (Thomson) is obviously a great player.”

The heat wreaked havoc on the players and conditions were tough, but three players carded 63s. It was a strong afternoon for Garrett Endicott, Jackson Van Paris and Matthew Kress.

“This is going to sound really dumb, but I felt like I hit it pretty good (Wednesday) but I made a couple of mistakes and out here at Wannamoisett the greens are pretty crazy and I got on the wrong side of the hole a couple times and made a couple careless bogeys,” Kress said. Thursday “I was not going to do that and I tried to get off to a better start today. I knew the first three holes here are pretty tough, so if I could get through those, making some good swings and some good pars it could go my way. I birdied the first three, so that was a pretty good start and I just tried to keep it going.”

Thomson also understands he needs to keep it going because there’s plenty of golf remaining. Everyone will be chasing him on moving day.

Recap courtesy of Joe McDonald of the Rhode Island Golf Association

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