Concord, NC – Brian Anderson of Jupiter, FL and Ryan Nelson of Houston, TX entered the second round of the eGolf Tour's Cabarrus Classic presented by VisitCabarrus.com tied for the lead following matching rounds of 8-under 64 during Wednesday's opening round. Playing in the early threesomes in Thursday's afternoon wave, both players matched scores yet again with rounds of 4-under 68, and remain tied atop the leaderboard at 12-under 132 heading into Friday's third and final round.

The Cabarrus Classic presented by VisitCabarrus.com is the 15th event of the 2011 eGolf Tour season and is being contested this week at the George Cobb-designed Cabarrus Country Club course in Concord, NC.

Anderson, a South Florida resident by way of Rochester, IL, began his second round on the back nine at Cabarrus Country Club and quickly moved to 10-under with birdies at Nos. 12 and 14. Standing on the tee of the par-3 15th, which somewhat resembles the par-3 12th at Augusta National Golf Club, Anderson stared down a middle-left hole location with an 8-iron in his hand.

"That was a cute pin to the left, and I was aimed straight at it," said Anderson, 29. "I just flushed that 8-iron and watched it sail over the green."

Chipping back down towards the water with a shaved front in the background, Anderson stumbled his way to a double-bogey, which in turn erased all of the good will built up in the two early birdies.

Six months ago, prior to some work with renowned sports psychologist Dr. Bob Rotella, the double-bogey at 15 might have sunk Anderson's proverbial battleship. However, a clear mind and a focus on the now allowed the former Illinois State golfer to quickly move on, knowing that more birdies were on the horizon.

"I wasn't upset at all, which was huge for me," he said. "I didn't get down on myself, knowing I hit a good shot and just hit it too far. After that, I just went back to playing golf. Like I said, I was just staying in the present."

A follow-up birdie at the uphill par-4 16th recovered one of the lost shots, and a birdie at the lengthy par-5 18th brought back the other. Four birdies in tow and with a 2-under 34 on the turn, Anderson was at 10-under for the week with nine holes to play in his second round.

Birdies at Nos. 4 and 8, and not a blemish to be found anywhere, left Anderson with another 2-under 34 on his closing nine, good for a second-round 68 to finish at 12-under.

"We got lucky with the weather, all the guys in this wave," said Anderson, whose wave avoided most of the steady rain that blanketed the course on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. "The greens were soft and I was able to take aim at a lot of the pins. It was a really good day. I'm hoping I can get a few more putts to drop tomorrow, so we'll see what happens."

In Friday's final round, Anderson will attempt to capture his first eGolf Tour title in three years on tour. At this same event in 2009, Anderson held the 18-hole lead after an 8-under 64 and wound up T4 on the week – to date, his best finish in tour.

Nelson, a contestant in this year's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club, posted birdies on Nos. 4 and 8 for an outward nine of 2-under 34 to reach 10-under for the week. The Oregon native bogeyed the short par-4 10th, but bounced back with birdies at 11, 14 and 17 to close with another 2-under 34 to post 68 on the day and 12-under for the tournament.

A former University of Portland standout, the 33-year-old Nelson is in his first full season on the eGolf Tour and has collected $64,685 in earnings in just eight starts entering the week. At the Scratch Golf Championship in Aiken, SC this past July, Nelson birdied the 72nd hole to force his way into a playoff with Clark Klaasen and Seung-su Han, which he eventually won with a par on the fourth extra hole. The win was one of four top-5 finishes for Nelson this year, and was worth $26,000.

Taylor Hall (LaGrange, GA), Fernando Mechereffe (Charlotte, NC), Chesson Hadley (Raleigh, NC), David Sanchez (Huntersville, NC) and defending champion Drew Weaver (High Point, NC) are tied for third, one shot behind the leaders at 11-under 133.

Hall, who was tied for third after Wednesday's opening round following a 7-under 65, posted five birdies and a lone bogey at the par-5 eighth en route to a second-round 68 to reach 11-under on the week.

The former Georgia Tech golfer posted three top-10 finishes in his rookie campaign of 2010, but only one thus far in 2011 – a career-best T4 at The El Jadida Classic in Morocco.

For Mechereffe, 2011 has provided a string of near misses for a player still looking for his first win after seven years of competing on the eGolf Tour. The Brazil native has posted three runner-up finishes since the middle of June, with the third coming at the tour's last event – the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn in August. The last runner-up brought his bridesmaid tally to seven total since the start of the 2006 eGolf Tour season. At the 2010 edition of the Cabarrus Classic, Mechereffe collected another runner-up after losing to champion Drew Weaver on the first hole of a sudden death playoff.

While Mechereffe has come close, he has also been remarkably consistent. The former N.C. State "All American" has made 11 of 12 cuts on the year, and has posted six top-10 finishes – all of which came in his last seven starts. Since the start of the Donald Ross Championship at the end of May, Mechereffe has posted a staggering 27 of 34 rounds in the 60s. In addition, he has amassed season-long earnings of $64,652, which place him at No. 7 on the tour's money list.

Weaver, the 2007 British Amateur champion and a member of the 2009 United States Walker Cup team, posted seven birdies for a bogey-free 65 on Thursday to move from a tie for 14th up into a tie for third. The 7-under 65 is Weaver's low round (to par) this season, bettering a 6-under 65 in the third round of the Bolle Classic.

The former Virginia Tech standout captured his first career professional title at this event last year with rounds of 64-68-67—199 and the aforementioned playoff win over Mechereffe and Tadd Fujikawa.

The 36-hole cut fell at 4-under 140, with 52 players making it through to Friday's final round. Final-round play in the Cabarrus Classic presented by VisitCabarrus.com will begin at 8 AM on Friday morning, with players competing in threesomes off of Nos. 1 and 10 tees. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.