Jason Duff (North Florida Athletics Photo)

Jason Duff of Elkton, Fla., and Justin Sui of Lake Orion, Mich., both shot in the 60s on a cool, breezy, and sunny Saturday to reach 5-under par and take the 36-hole lead in the St. Augustine Amateur at the St. Johns Golf Club.

They hold a one-stroke lead over Danny Erickson of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., at 4-under. Two back is first-round leader Carson Johnson of Signal Mountain, Tenn., at 3-under, who finished with a double bogey on the par-5 No. 18 Saturday after driving in the water and hitting his third shot in the same hazard. Tyler Gutierrez (Madison, Miss., high school junior), at 2-under, is the youngest player on the leaderboard at age 17.

Brett Schell of St. Augustine, Fla., and Filip Raza of Teplice, Czech Republic are at 1-under and share a lengthy college career.

Schell, a former Bartram Trail High School player, played four years at Ole Miss, sat out last year after shoulder surgery, and will begin his sixth year of eligibility next year at UNF. Raza also suffered a shoulder injury last year, underwent surgery back home in the Czech Republic in early February, and is playing his first competitive rounds since December 2023.

Saturday’s second round was similarly difficult to Friday’s first round. The field scoring average was 76.3 on Saturday and only seven players are under par entering Sunday’s play.

For the leaders, it was a tale of being close to the history of the St. Augustine Amateur and far away from the competition, which began in 2004.

Duff, 23, grew up in a house adjacent to the landing area right of the first fairway at the St. Johns Golf Club and has followed the tournament his entire golf life. He is a fifth-year senior for the Ospreys. His two rounds have included six birdies and an eagle, alongside caddie and UNF teammate Chase Carroll, who happens to be college roommates with Erickson.

“It’s always been one of my goals to win this tournament,” said Duff, who is being followed by family, friends, and neighbors this week. “It would be an honor to complete that on Sunday.”

According to the St. Augustine Amateur, Sui is a 20-year-old amateur who was an American Junior Golf Association all-star in 2020. However, when the Covid pandemic was in full force in 2021, his game suffered, and Sui didn’t have the Division I college offers that he hoped for.

Sui and his father, Shane, who doubles as his caddie, opted to play a full amateur schedule of Michigan events in the summer and Florida tournaments in the winter. He found out about the St. Augustine Amateur a couple of weeks ago.

“I decided to take my own path, and it’s worked out so far,” said Sui, who has made 10 birdies and an eagle in 36 holes and had Saturday’s low round (67). “I take mostly online courses at the University of Florida and practice and play individually. It’s a bit of a different way to play, but I’m focused on that now.