La Quinta, CA – Tim Madigan of Rio Rancho, NM opened his week at eGolf Tour West’s inaugural Championship at PGA West with a stellar 8-under 64 on the Nicklaus Tournament course to grab a two-shot lead through 18 holes of the 54-hole event. On day two at the famed resort’s Stadium Course, the former New Mexico State star found the road more demanding, as five bogeys over the Pete Dye gem left him with a 1-under-par effort, but nevertheless still atop the leaderboard at 9-under 135 with Thursday’s third and final round still to play.

Madigan’s second-round at PGA West read like a bit of a roller coaster, with three bogeys and two birdies on his outward nine taking him from the top of the board to two shots back. The 25-year-old birdied the 11th to move back to even par for the day, then dipped back into the red with a bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie stretch on Nos. 13 through 17 that left him with a 71 on the day.

The former New Mexico Open champion entered the week with four top-25s in five starts on eGolf Tour West, including top-5s at the Golf Club of California Classic (T4) and the Arrowood Open (T5).

The winner of the eGolf Tour’s NorthStone Open in 2012 holds a one-shot lead over Geoff Gonzalez of Diablo, CA and tour newcomer J.J. Spaun of Laguna Niguel, CA, who sit tied for second at 8-under 136.

Gonzalez, a winner at the Championship at Carlton Oaks earlier this month, entered Wednesday’s second round just two shot back of Madigan before grabbing the lead outright through eight holes after an eagle at the par-5 eighth on day two pushed him to 9-under par overall.

Gonzalez gave back all three shots earned at the par-4 ninth, where a triple-bogey left him with an even-par 36 on his outward nine. The 26-year-old rallied late with birdies on 16 and 18 to finish off a second-round 70 that left him one shot back with 18 holes to play.

Final-round play in the Championship at PGA West will begin at 6:45 AM on Thursday morning, with players competing on the Nicklaus Tournament Course. The tournament is open to the public and free of charge.