VERONA — When Jerry Kelly got on the shuttle to take him to the 10th tee at University Ridge on Friday, he had a pained expression on his face. Perhaps, some of it was because of the rheumatoid arthritis diagnosis he revealed Thursday that has sapped his energy and has his body not reacting the way he’s used to. But at least part of the look was he had just finished 1-over par on the front nine, needing a great shot out of the bunker on the ninth hole to save par. However, he found his game over the final nine holes when he posted five birdies in a row and finished the day at 3-under, one off the lead at the American Family Insurance Championship.

“I made a 20-footer for par on 10,” Kelly said afterwards when asked about his back-9. “I’d like to say it got me fired up, but it really — I actually said, ‘I’m going to start drinking tonight.’ The next thing you know, I made five (birdies) in a row, so I better hold true to my word tonight and enjoy myself.”

Kelly’s back-9 could have gone even better, as the Madison native went into the 18th hole at 4-under with a chance to take the outright lead. But a couple mis-hits eventually led to a three-putt and a bogey.

“I wanted to be stronger for myself, and I was so hard on myself those first bunch of holes,” Kelly said.
“I’m telling myself I may never play well. Your brain goes to dark places and I was dark again. It’s like, c’mon. We had people out there cheering, having fun. I just got to get stronger mentally and the physical side hopefully will follow.”

While Kelly has won the event twice, Madison’s Steve Stricker came into the day looking for back-to-back wins in a tournament he serves as the host. The 57-year-old was more consistent than Kelly, going out at 1-under, including a perfect approach shot on the ninth hole to setup a birdie. He then came up with two more birdies on the back-9 to sit in a tie with Kelly and four others for third place behind leaders Glen Day and Boo Weekly.

“It’s nice to be introduced as the defending champion. I’m just trying to get back there again, trying to get in that position again come Sunday,” Stricker said. “And hopefully I’ve got to get this putter worked out, that’s the bottom line. I hit it well enough today to shoot 5 or 6-under and to walk away with 3 is a little bit disappointing. So I’ve just got to get it in the hole a little bit quicker.”

Another Wisconsin native, Skip Kendall, is also right in the mix at 2-under.

Overall, there are 17 players within two shots of the lead heading into Saturday’s second round.