It didn’t take an Einstein to come up with the simple plan that’s guided the second-round leader of the N.C. Open.

Hit the fairways. Shoot for the middle of the greens. Make a few putts. But execution isn’t as easy.

Yet Brandon Einstein went out and did it — twice. The 25-year-old Tanglewood Park pro posted 7-under-par 64 Wednesday at Forsyth Country Club to take a six-stroke lead over six players into Thursday’s final round. Einstein, who opened with 66 Tuesday, stands at 12-under 130.

West End instructor Matt Fry is in the group tied for second at 136. The others are Billy Belair of Longs, South Carolina, Aaron Black of Indian Land, S.C., Tyler Lucas of Tega Cay, S.C., Tyler Porter of Boone and Louis Kelly of Sewell, New Jersey.

Due to pre-tournament rain, the field has played “preferred lies” on the fairways on the 6,793-yard course, making accuracy off the tee a bigger factor.

“(Hitting fairways) was key especially with ball in hand,” Einstein said. “I hit a lot of clubs I normally wouldn’t just to keep the ball in play and keep it in the short grass. I think that just set up a lot of scoring opportunities.”

Through 36 holes, Einstein has 12 birdies and no bogeys. He didn’t miss a fairway in the opening round, though he did miss one green — at No. 18 — by a few paces. He capped his second-round performance by sinking a 35-foot left-to-right birdie putt.

“My putting has been solid,” Enstein said.

The Clemmons native, who played at High Point University and N.C. State, is familiar with the course. When he attended Forsyth Country Day, Forsyth was the team’s home course.

“I love the staff. I love the golf course,” he said.

Einstein got off to a great start Wednesday with birdies on the first two holes, followed by birdies at Nos. 5 and 8 to make the turn with 32.

Einstein said he doesn’t expect to change his successful game plan in the final round. After all, he’s used a conservative approach while taking the lead.

“I’m going to stick to the same thing,” Einstein said. “It’s worked the first two days. Just keep applying pressure that way.”

Einstein knows how to win. He won the N.C. Junior and the State Match Play — Carolinas Golf Association events — and three events at HPU. He has also qualified for a U.S. Amateur.

The 156-player field was cut to 63 at 147 for the final round. Wake Forest’s Kyle Haas, Mt. Airy native Tommy Gibson, Winston-Salem amateur Davis Womble and Oak Grove High’s Lincoln Newton joined a 10-player group at 140. Amateur Sam Davidson of Asheboro shot 66 Wednesday to rise to even-par.

Forsyth director of golf Chase Adams (144), former Forsyth director of golf John Faidley (146) and Wake Forest coach Jerry Haas (146) were among notables that made the cut.

Pennson Badgett of Pilot Mountain emerged from a 20 players for 17 spots playoff Wednesday morning to qualify for match play competition at the U.S. Amateur.

But it wasn’t easy. He got the last spot.

Badgett bogeyed the second playoff hole, No. 10 at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course, to clinch a berth. Badgett had parred the first playoff hole, No. 9, where only two of the needed three players were eliminated. With only one player facing elimination, Emil Riegger of Fort Lauderdale, one of the first players to play the second hole, made double-bogey.

The 64-hole match play bracket begins Wednesday afternoon. As the No. 64 seed, Padgett will play medalist and No. 1 seed Preston Stout, an Oklahoma State golfer, in this afternoon’s final opening-round match at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course.

Badgett, a rising senior at East Surry High who has committed to play at the University of Tennessee, shot rounds of 71 and 72 for a 3-over-par 143 total in stroke play. Stout played the two courses in 132.

Missing the cut in the 312-player field were UNC Greensboro golfers Dax Isbell and Keenan Royalty. Isbell, a Cumming, Georgia, native who transferred from Tennessee-Martin, posted 149. Royalty, a Raleigh native, shot 156.

Two Triad golfers shared the lead Tuesday after the first round of the North Carolina Open at Forsyth Country Club.

Instructors Matt Fry of West End and Brandon Einstein of Clemmons shot 5-under 66 to led the 156-player field. Other familiar Triad faces near the top of the leaderboard included Charlotte senior John Faidley, a former Forsyth director of golf, at 68; and Lincoln Newton, a rising senior at Oak Grove High, and current Forsyth director of golf Chase Adams at 69.

Preston Cole of Charlotte, Tyler Porter of Boone and Louis Kelly of Sewell, New Jersey, shared third at 67.

The 54-hole Carolinas PGA tournament continues Wednesday and Thursday.

(Updates with 20 players at 143 set for Wednesday morning playoff for 17 spots in match play)

Pennson Badgett of Pilot Mountain is in for a long Tuesday night in San Francisco capped by a possible playoff involving several players at the U.S. Amateur.

The rising senior at East Surry High shot 2-over-par 72 at The Olympic Club’s Lake Course, placing him near the cut line for advancing to the 64-player match play competition. Almost half the field of 312 players was still on two Olympic Club courses at 6 p.m. EDT. The final group started at 5:45 p.m. EDT.

Badgett, who shot 1-over 71 Monday on Olympic’s Ocean Course, was of 26 players tied for 57th at 3-over. But with most players posting scores over par, he should climb the leaderboard the rest of the day. The USGA projects the cut at 4-over.

Players tying for the final spots in match play will enter a playoff. The USGA website did not specify whether the playoff would be Tuesday night or Wednesday morning.

Badgett had a roller-coaster round on Lake, site of the 2012 U.S. Open. Starting with a bogey at No. 9 (players started at Nos. 1 and 9 nearest the clubhouse), he made five birdies, five bogeys and a double-bogey during the round.

After his second bogey at No. 12, Badgett rallied up the leaderboard with birdies at 16, 17 and 18.

On the back nine, Badgett shot 38 with four bogeys, the double bogey and two birdies. He played his last four holes in birdie, double, birdie and bogey, the last forcing to wait to find out his fate.

Preston Stout was the leader in the clubhouse at 8-under.

Pennson Badgett put himself in good position at the U.S. Amateur despite a shaky finish Monday afternoon at The Olympic Club in San Francisco.

The rising senior at East Surry High shot 1-over-par 71 on the Ocean Course, leaving him in a tie for 38th place out of 312 players in the field.

The top 64 players — ties will be broken in a playoff — after Tuesday’s second round of stroke play will advance to match play.

Badgett, who had an afternoon tee time Monday, will tee off at 8:55 a.m. PDT Tuesday on the Lake Course, the venue for the 2012 U.S. Open won by Webb Simpson.

Badgett, a University of Tennessee commit, was solid most of the day and rose to as high as a tie for third on the leaderboard at 2-under with birdies at Nos. 6 and 8 no bogeys through his first 14 holes.

But Badgett bogeyed 15, 16 and 18 to join 26 others at 1-under. Badgett parred every par-3 and par-5 on the Ocean Course.

The leaderboard was dominated by many of the top collegiate players.

England’s Charlie Forster, who just finished his career at Long Beach State, and University of Texas’ player Tommy Morrison tied for the first-round lead with 66 on Ocean. Auburn’s Logan Reilly and Oklahoma State’s Preston Stout, the two players tied for second at 3-under, also played Ocean.

Auburn standout Jackson Koivun, who tied for fifth in the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, shot 68 at Ocean.

Vanderbilt’s Ryan Downes and Utah’s Davis Johnson led players at the Lakes, also par-70, with 68.

Jackson Spires of Apex, who qualified for the tournament by winning the N.C. Amateur at The Cardinal Golf Club, shot 77 at Ocean.

Many of the state’s top club pros, instructors and amateurs are in the Triad this week for the North Carolina Open, which begins Tuesday at one of the region’s top courses.

The 156-player field will tackle the par-71, 6,793-yard Donald Ross design for 54 holes in the Carolinas PGA event at Forsyth Country Club. Greensboro architect Kris Spence completed a renovation in 2018.

Chase Adams, Forsyth’s director of golf, told TriadGolf.com that Forsyth escaped damage from storms that hit the region in recent days. Members have driven carts on the fairways for the past few days.

Adams said the greens were running a speedy 13.5 on the Stimpmeter on Monday morning.

A target winning score?

“I would say if someone can get to double digits (under par) they should have a good chance,” Adams said.

The field includes Cooper Hrabak, the leader in the CPGA Player of the Year race. An Ohio native, Hrabek played at Methodist University before turning pro and making his home in the Sandhills area.

Looking for a home-course favorite? Adams and three fellow Forsyth staffers are in the field, as is former Forsyth pro John Faidley. But no Forsyth members are entered.

Fresh off a high-profile performance in a national junior tournament, a Triad golfer will tee it up Monday in the most prestigious amateur tournament.

Pennson Badgett of Pilot Mountain has a 2:10 p.m. PDT tee time at The Olympic Club’s Ocean Course in the first round of qualifying at the U.S. Amateur in San Francisco.

Badgett, a rising sophomore at East Surry High, will compete against a field of many of the best collegiate golfers in the tournament, which includes a 36-hole stroke-play qualifier for 64 match-play berths. Badgett has committed to play college golf at the University of Tennessee.

Each of the 312 players will play one round each on Olympic’s Ocean and Lake courses before the match-play cut. The 36-hole final is scheduled for next Sunday.

Badgett contended for the Junior PGA Championship last weekend, tying for fourth place while playing with Charlie Woods’, Tiger Woods’ son, for the final round at Brick Boilermaker Golf Complex in West Lafayette, Indiana. Badgett shot 12-under 273 in the 72-hole tourney.

Badgett earned a spot in the U.S. Amateur by finishing second with 66 in sectional qualifying last month at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington.

Jackson Spires of Apex received an exemption into the U.S. Amateur field for winning the North Carolina Amateur last month at The Cardinal Golf Club.