GLENVIEW, Ill. – After a morning of thunderstorms at The Glen Club, Rob Oppenheim carded a second-round 65 and is the clubhouse leader at 12-under Friday night at the Evans Scholars Invitational. Vince Covello matched Oppenheim with a 65 on Friday and is alone in second at 11-under 133. Marcelo Rozo sits in third at 9-under 135 after a second-round 68.

Second-round tee times were delayed 2 hours and 20 minutes due to lightning in the area Friday morning. The first groups teed off at 9:15 a.m. Play was again suspended due to lightning at 12:05 p.m. The second round resumed at 1:15 p.m. and play was later suspended due to darkness at 8:12 p.m. The second round is scheduled to resume at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday with players beginning the third round at approximately 10:30 a.m. In all, 66 players have not completed their second rounds.

Oppenheim got off to a fast start with birdies on three of his first five holes. Following a par on No. 6, Oppenheim closed his front nine with birdies on Nos. 7, 8 and 9. After a bogey on the par-3 11th, the 39-year-old rebounded with a clutch up-and-down on No. 12. He added birdies on Nos. 14 and 17 down the stretch to match the low round of the day.

“I made some putts, I chipped in once on No. 9 across the green where I was just hoping to make a par,” Oppenheim said. “Anytime you shoot 7-under you have to make some putts, and that was the key today. To shoot 6-under on that front nine, which is a pretty difficult nine holes, I’ll take that.”

Oppenheim was scheduled to tee off at 7:37 a.m. Friday morning, but did not hit his first shot until 9:57 a.m. The delay didn’t seem to faze the Web.com Tour veteran, who carded his lowest round of the season.

“It’s just part of professional golf,” Oppenheim said. “I’ve been doing it a long time, so you kind of get used to it. You have to be patient and roll with whatever comes at you. I’m going to be able to rest tonight and sleep in tomorrow morning, so maybe we got the better draw of it. As long as you look at the positives, you can use it to your advantage.”

Alone in second is Vince Covello, who matched Oppenheim with a 7-under 65 on Friday. Covello carded eight birdies against one bogey during his second round. Starting on the back nine, he erupted with birdies on Nos. 11, 13, 14 and 15. The University of North Florida alum added birdies on Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 to find himself one shot off the pace.

“I drove it down the middle of the fairway, which is important,” Covello said. “The rough is thick out here, and with getting place lift, clean and place, it helps when you hit fairways. I hit a lot of good irons shots, and everything was pretty on point.”

Covello claimed his first Web.com Tour title earlier this year at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS. He currently ranks 12th in The 25 and is closing in on a PGA TOUR card for next season.

“I think you get a lot of the same feelings being in contention again,” Covello said. “It’s just about controlling yourself, your mindset and your approach to the game. I’ve kind of been living and dying with the putter this year. Now that it’s working okay, I’m up there again.”

After opening rounds of 67-68, Marcelo Rozo finds himself alone in third. Rozo has made four cuts in nine starts but hasn’t notched a top-25 this season. The Bogota, Colombia, native is currently ranked 142nd on The 25, but is making the most of his opportunity.

“I want to actually enjoy myself a little bit more,” Rozo said. “That’s something that I changed this week and just want to enjoy the ride here. I have a spot on the Web.com Tour, and want to have fun while I’m playing, and I think that’s helping me out.”

Alone in fourth place is Luke Guthrie, who sits four strokes off the lead at 8-under 136. Guthrie was a standout at the University of Illinois and was selected as the 2012 Big Ten Player of the Year.

Round Two Results