CHICAGO DISTRICT GOLF ASSOCIATION

Five hours and 18 holes later, Scodro had become the pacesetter. Following rounds of 71 and 65, he enters Tuesday’s 18-hole finale with a one-stroke lead at 6 under overall.

The dramatic shift was galvanized by an eagle on the aforementioned 18th, as Scodro lashed his approach out of the rough and on to the back of the green. He sank the 25-foot putt to salvage what he claimed had been “kind of a bad round” up to that point.

“I hadn’t really seen much go in, so it was nice to get that visual and it definitely jumpstarted the second round,” Scodro, a 33-year-old Notre Dame graduate, said.

Following a quick lunch spent clearing out emails, the private equity advisor carried the positivity into the second round, birdieing the par-4 10th, his opener. Armed with momentum and growing familiarity with a track he had not played before, Scodro would proceed to notch five more birdies en route to a clean 6-under 65, the lowest round of the day.

“[The second round was] much more solid,” Scodro said. “I missed one green and gave myself tons of looks. I learned that you don’t have to do too much here. It gives you looks - just be patient and hit greens.”

Scodro will enter Tuesday’s final round with a one-stroke lead over Andrew Price (Lake Bluff), the 2014 State Mid-Am winner and last year’s runner up. Also experiencing Biltmore for the first time, the 2016 CDGA Amateur champion sits at 5 under following rounds of 68 and 69, and hopes to build off the course management lessons learned Monday for Tuesday’s final round.

“Seeing [the course] helps, for sure,” said Price, 41. “There are a couple of quirky little shots where you need to take the right line. After seeing it today, it will definitely help for tomorrow. I don’t think my game plan will change a whole lot, but at least I know where to hit it.”

Will Hickey (Burr Ridge) is two shots back of Scodro at 4 under, followed by Nick Feinberg (Chicago) at -3. The trio of Graham O’Connor-Brooks (Libertyville), Charlie Waddell (Kenilworth) and David Keenan (Champaign), who aced the par-3 fifth, round out the top five at -1.

Defending champion Chadd Slutzky (Deer Park) sits T8 at even par. In total, exactly 35 golfers made the cut, which came at +8.

Scodro, Price and Hickey will compose the final group. Third-round play will begin on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m., with the final group of Scodro, Price and Hickey teeing off at 9:20 a.m.