Conover, NC – With 10 holes to play in the second round of the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn, eGolf Tour member George Bryan IV ran into a familiar face – his brother Wesley. With a 20-foot birdie putt awaiting him on the green of the par-5 18th (his ninth), George Bryan found out from his younger brother that Wesley had posted a second-round 68 to reach 9-under for the week in his professional debut.

Game on.

George Bryan, who opened his week with a bogey-free 67 on Wednesday, promptly converted the 20-foot birdie try and added two more on Nos. 1 and 2 to quickly vault ahead of the pace his brother had set in the day’s morning wave.

“He kind of inspired me a bit. Just knowing that he shot 4-under today, it kind of got me going,” said the 24-year-old Bryan, who is two years his brother’s senior. “There is definitely a competitive spirit between us. I was happy for him, but wanted to beat him.”

Bryan, who reached 9-under to tie his brother after the trifecta of birdies on 18, 1 and 2, added two more birdies on Nos. 7 and 8 to reach 6-under for the day and 11-under for the week. When he pared the uphill par-3 ninth, the former University of South Carolina star was left with the 36-hole lead, and just two rounds away from his first eGolf Tour title.

“I played really solidly outside of a couple of lip outs early on,” he said. “It was a good day out there, no doubt.”

An early birdie at the par-4 12th took Bryan to the par-4 13th, where a water-hazard-bound second shot left him scrambling for bogey, which he was able to convert in order to sustain his early momentum.

“That was a good bogey on 13,” Bryan said. “That could have gone a few ways, but luckily I walked out of there with just a five.”

A follow-up birdie at 14 made up for the lost shot, while pars on 15 through 17 took him to the green of the par-5 18th, where he saw the younger member of the Bryan clan.

“As soon as he told me he shot 4-under, I knew I had to start playing better,” Bryan joked. “Being competitive like I am, I of course make the birdie at 18 and add two more on Nos. 1 and 2. I was going to catch him.”

Bryan, a three-time “All America” selection as one of the best Gamecock golfers of the last decade, is in his second full season on the eGolf Tour after making his debut in February of 2011. Struggles early in his rookie year gave way to four made cuts in his final five starts of the season, and it seemed as though 2012 could be a breakthrough year for the Chapin, SC native.

Early on in 2012, it looked as though that breakthrough was on the horizon. Three top-20 finishes in his first four starts – including a career-best fourth-place finish at Oldfield Open – gave off the sense that Bryan was ready to capitalize on his sophomore campaign. A missed cut at the Championship at St. James Plantation in April, however, gave way to two more missed cuts in his next three starts – a slump Bryan attributes to a shaky short game.

“I was playing well and hitting the ball well, I just wasn’t making anything,” he said. “After that, I wound up spending a lot more time on my chipping and putting, especially these last three to four weeks. It feels like it’s paying off.”

A T31 at last week’s River Hills Classic – highlighted by a first-round 65 – brought Bryan to the famed Robert Trent Jones, Jr. course at Rock Barn Club, site of this week’s event. With 12 birdies and just one bogey to his name through 36 holes, Bryan is more than comfortable sitting on the lead at the event’s halfway point – his first lead since the 2010 SEC Championship.

“I’m just looking to improve,” he said. “I feel like I’ve improved from last year, and this week will help to continue that trend. I’m looking forward to it.”

First-round leader Stefan Wiedergruen, who opened his week with a 7-under 65 to hold the day one lead for a second consecutive year, birdied the first two holes of his second round on Thursday to quickly extend his tally to 9-under par.

A bogey at the par-4 sixth dropped the Waiblingen, Germany native back down to 8-under, but he bounced back on the closing nine with birdies at 12 and 14 to move back to 3-under for the day and 10-under overall. Pars on Nos. 15 through 18 gave the former UNC Charlotte star a second-round 69 and a 10-under 134 total, just one shot shy of Bryan.

At the 2011 HGM Hotels Classic, Wiedergruen posted rounds of 62-68-67-75—272 en route to a career-best T15 finish. At 18-under par through three rounds, Wiedergruen took a one-shot lead over Fernando Mechereffe into the event’s final round, but double-bogeyed Nos. 1 and 2 on his way to a closing 75 – which left him six shots shy of eventual winner Hudson Swafford.

Will Bowman of Greensboro, NC, Drew Weaver of High Point, NC and Wesley Bryan (of, yes, Chapin, SC), are tied for third, two shots behind the elder Bryan at 9-under 135.

Bryan is making his professional debut this week at Rock Barn following a standout career at the University of South Carolina, all accomplished in the footsteps of his brother. Through 36 holes of play, the younger Bryan is still waiting on his first bogey as a professional.

In Wednesday’s afternoon wave, Bryan carded five birdies – three in his final six holes – to open his career with a flawless 5-under 67. On Thursday, Bryan again played bogey-free golf with birdies on Nos. 4, 8, 15 and 16 for a second-round 68 that pushed him to 9-under overall.

Bowman, who starred roughly one hour east of Conover, NC at UNC Greensboro, grabbed the early clubhouse lead on Thursday after posting a second-round 66 to reach 9-under par.

The 25-year-old Bowman is looking to right a struggling 2012, where he has now made three cuts in eight starts. Bowman, however, is just one week removed from his best finish of the year – a T42 at the River Hills Classic.

Weaver, one of the tour’s hottest players over the last month, birdied five of his first eight holes on Thursday, but added three bogeys on the day to post as 4-under 68 to move into T3 at 9-under par.

Weaver, the 2007 British Amateur champion, is just two weeks removed from claiming his second eGolf Tour title at the Willow Creek Open – contested on his home course, Willow Creek Country Club in High Point.

The win came on the heels of a T2 finish at the Columbia Open, and was followed by a T8 effort at last week’s River Hills Classic. Over his past three-and-a-half tournaments, including 36 holes at Rock Barn this week, Weaver is now a staggering 50-under par.

The 36-hole cut fell at 2-under 142, with 60 players making it through to the final 36 holes of play. The third round of the HGM Hotels Classic at Rock Barn will begin at 8:00 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.