CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ The Wells Fargo Championship is known for occasionally producing young winners who aren't exactly household names on the PGA Tour, much less across the general sports landscape.
Remember Derek Ernst in 2013, James Hahn in 2016 or Brian Harman in 2017?
So how about Peter Malnati or Aaron Wise for this year's championship?
Malnati, who's won on the PGA Tour once, shot a 3-under-par 68 Friday for 7 under for the tournament, good for a one-shot lead over Wise _ a 21-year-old who turned pro after he won the NCAA championship at Oregon in 2016.
There's plenty of big-name firepower lurking, however. Jason Day, the world's 14th-ranked player, is tied with Wise for second. England's Paul Casey and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel, two veterans with 31 victories around the world between them, are tied for fourth, another shot back.
But the Wells Fargo has been a tournament for breakthrough victories for young players, and either Malnati or Wise both might poised to do so this year.
Malnati, who started the day one shot out of the lead, got his round going when he birdied the treacherous 18th hole (his ninth), then birdied again on No. 1. He scrambled on the ninth (his last) hole, when he hit his approach shot into a bunker. His shot out of the sand barely cleared the lip of the bunker, and an astonished Malnati watched the ball settle 6 feet from the hole for what turned out to be a routine par.
"At no point at impact did I think that was clearing the lip," Malnati said. "Then it clears the lip and lands in (what) was a perfect shot. But it was pretty scary when I hit it."
Wise played a steady round, with five birdies and bogeys on fourth and seventh holes. He and Wise will be the final pairing Saturday, a situation neither of them is accustomed to.
"I have a chance to this weekend to feel those nerves," Wise said. "It's going to be great and I'm going to learn from it and hopefully go out there and keep doing what I'm doing."
