CROMWELL, Conn. — Adam Rainaud saw his sister Lindsay Romanko earlier than he planned Friday.
The South Hadley native and assistant golf professional at Black Hall Club in Old Lyme had just hit his second shot from the third hole drastically off course. It landed in the rough of the fourth fairway, and Rainaud needed to cross the spectator area to take his third shot.
He and his caddie, brother Steve Rainaud, crossed paths with Romanko moving through the spectator area toward the green.
Romanko encouraged them on their way back on course.
“It’s so exciting,” Romanko said of watching her brother play. “I’m a ball of nerves hoping he does as well as he can.”
Rainaud bogeyed the third hole, his first of five during the second round and finished at 4-over 74 for the day.
It put him at 8-over 148 through 36 holes, well behind the cut at 1 under.
“I didn’t give up until probably after I didn’t birdie 13,” Rainaud said. “I would have probably had to birdie in from there. After I didn’t birdie that one I knew it was all over. You don’t really change much.”
On the 511-yard, par-5 13th, Rainaud hit his driver 269 yards then followed that with a 239-yard fairway shot.
His third shot landed 20 feet, 8 inches from the pin, and he missed a birdie putt by under 3 feet.
The putting trend continued in the second round.
He needed 31 putts to get through the round after putting 32 times Thursday.
Rainaud three-putted twice on Nos. 5 and 7.
“I just hit some decent shots and again just burned edges,” he said.
Rainaud’s only birdie Friday, one of only three for him in the tournament, came on the 162-yard 11th hole.
He hit his tee shot 161 yards to within 6 feet of the cup.
Rainaud then hit a putt shorter than him — at 6-foot-7 he’s the tallest golfer in the field — for the birdie.
“When I hit the green I’ve got to convert more of my birdie putts,” Rainaud said. “Three birdies in 36 holes isn’t very good.”
Tyrone Van Aswegen led the tournament’s field at 7 under after shooting a 4-under 32 on Friday.
He birdied 10 and 11 and hasn’t made a bogey yet.
“I feel like my swing coach this week, Robert Baker, he’s helped me a lot just getting a little bit more in the slot,” Van Aswegen said. “I’m holing a lot of putts. It’s a good combination.”
Besides height, Rainaud may also have led the field in fans.
Due to the tournament’s proximity to his hometown of South Hadley and home course in Old Lyme, droves of fans turned out to support Rainaud.
“This gallery’s larger than Bubba’s,” one course manager remarked.
Bubba Watson, the event’s 2015 champion, finished Friday tied for 23rd at 3 under.
The large crowd also offered Rainaud incentive to play better.
Scott Jenkins, who takes lessons from Rainaud at Black Hall, told him he’d buy him a bottle of Decoy wine if he birdied the sixth hole.
Rainaud parred the 585-yard par 5, the longest hole on the course.
He hit his second shot into a bunker and needed to lay up in the fairway.
Rainaud then chipped within 8 feet and made the putt for par.
“I love it. The more fans that come out the better. I love seeing faces I haven’t seen since high school,” he said. “I hit a few good shots for them to cheer about. But 17 and 18 I barely missed those two birdie putts. Those would have been nice to make.”
Rainaud’s schedule remains busy through the next few months.
He’ll play the Connecticut PGA Championship at Keney Park Golf Course on Aug. 23-24 and the Assistant’s Championship at Wanamaker Course in Port St. Lucie, Florida, at the end of October.
“In November I get a little break,” Rainaud said.
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.