Five are within five shots of the lead

~ Brown carded a 72 to charge atop the leaderboard.

Tyler Brown was disappointed with his performance in his first-ever American Junior Golf Association tournament.

So far in his second AJGA event, Brown has few complaints.

Brown, from Lee's Summit, Mo., leads by three strokes through two rounds of the Dalhousie Junior Championship.

After shooting a 2-under-par 70 in Tuesday's opening round, Brown fired an even-par 72 on Wednesday.

Ty Spinella of Aledo, Texas, chipped the ball to the green from the edge of the sand trap on the 10th hole. (AARON EISENHAUER ~aeisenhauer@semissourian.com)

The only player under par for the first 36 holes, Brown will carry a solid advantage into today's final round.

"I'm really pleased with what I've done the first two days here," Brown said. "I've been playing really solid."

Brown, who will be a senior at Blue Springs South High School, had his first taste of AJGA competition earlier this month at a tournament in Wichita, Kan.

His first two rounds were respectable as he was tied for 13th at 13-over par. But he faltered in the final round and finished tied for 37th at 25-over.

"I'm a lot hungrier now," said Brown, who qualified for the Missouri state high school tournament the past two years. "I'm really wanting to do better this time."

Derek Baade of St. Joseph, Mo., drilled a tee shot to the right during his second round at the AJGA Dalhousie Junior Championship at Dalhousie Golf Club. (AARON EISENHAUER ~aeisenhauer@semissourian.com)

That seems a foregone conclusion based on his strong play the past two days.

Brown was in a three-way tie for first place after the opening round, but the other two players who shot 2-under 70 found the going much tougher.

Drew Miller, from Clarksville, Tenn., blamed a faulty putter for a 75 that has him tied for second at 145.

"I couldn't get any putts to go in today," said Miller, who will also be a senior in high school. "I didn't putt bad, just nothing fell. Yesterday I made my putts.

"But I'm still in good position. I just need to play the same way I did today and hope the putts fall."

Adam Dolezal, a recent high school graduate from Lake Forest, Ill., struggled Wednesday with an 82 that has him well off the pace at 152.

Deadlocked with Miller at 145 is Ty Spinella from Aledo, Texas.

Spinella, who will be a senior in high school, had Wednesday's top round as he was the only golfer to break par with a 1-under 71.

But Miller and Spinella are both looking up at Brown, who showed plenty of mental toughness to scratch out an even-par round.

Brown got off to a slow start Wednesday by bogeying the first and second holes, but he played the rest of his round in 2-under, including 1-under on the back nine as he birdied Nos. 10 and 14.

Brown also overcame a penalty stroke on No. 13, which led to a bogey on that hole.

"I should have shot a 71 today, but when I was addressing the ball on a chip on 13, my club hit it and moved it, so I got a one-stroke penalty," Brown said. "I also started off the round pretty bad, but I didn't let any of that bother me too much.

"I thought my round was really solid."

Even though statistically Dalhousie played a bit easier Wednesday than Tuesday -- the average first-round boys score was 81.06, while the average second-round score was 80.206 -- Brown said he felt things were a bit tougher the second day.

"I think overall the pin placements were tougher," he said. "I was pretty pleased with my round."

But Brown knows he still has plenty of work to do in order to capture his first AJGA tournament title.

In addition to Miller and Spinella lurking three strokes behind, three other golfers are within five shots of the lead.

"I could just as easily go out and not win it tomorrow," Brown said. "But I'm just trying to play the golf course. If I play like I have been, I'll be in good shape."