“I never really put myself in a bad position today,” he said. “I just kept the ball in play, put the ball on the green and had a lot of two-putt pars. Really, I just didn’t have too many stressful pars.”

Starting out with seven straight pars, Franklin finally saw a change on his scorecard with a birdie on No. 8 and a bogey on No. 9 for an even-par 36. Then on the back nine, the San Rafael resident opened with birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 and finished with a birdie on the 18th for a bogey-free 33.

With match play beginning tomorrow and a top-seed in store, the incoming junior at Oregon State doesn’t look to change his game plan too much and mainly hopes to continue to hit the ball well.

“If I play the way in match play I’ve been playing the last few days, it’s going to be pretty good because I’ve been hitting a lot of greens and fairways,” he said.

Only one other player from the morning wave finished 36 holes with an under-par score as Jeff Murphy of Pleasant Hill posted a 143, one-under-par with rounds of 72 and 71.

Seven under-par scores are currently out on the course in the afternoon wave, including first round leader Cody Blick (five-under) and his nearest competitor Jonathan De Los Reyes (four-under).