James Glover II / Star staff Mark Nickeas follows the flight of his tee shot during Friday's first round of the SCGA Amateur at the Saticoy Country Club.

Former Rio Mesa High standout Ramie Sprinkling grew up playing golf at Saticoy Country Club. Mark Nickeas is the reigning club champion.

Both players took advantage of their vast home-course knowledge to put themselves in strong contention after two rounds of the 109th Southern California Golf Association Amateur Championship.

Sprinkling, Nickeas and Moorpark resident Wayne Merich all finished Friday's 36-hole marathon at 3-over 147, leaving them tied for seventh place heading into today's third round.

All three men are seven shots behind former Santa Barbara resident Kevin Marsh, who followed his opening round 1-under 71, with a 3-under 69, leaving him at 4-under 140 after 36 holes.

Following the second round, the field of 84 was cut to 42 and ties with 154 being the cut line. Of the 44 players who made the cut, six are from Ventura County. In addition to Sprinkling, Nickeas and Merich, other county advancers were Oak Park's Alex Kang (148), Thousand Oaks resident Bryan Martin (149), and Westlake's Marshall Colby (151).

Sprinkling shot a 3-over 75 on his first 18 holes, thanks in part to a stone-cold putter. But during the second round, Sprinkling got his flat stick working, sinking birdie putts on two of his first four holes. Through 12 holes Sprinkling was at 3 under, but made a few costly bogeys down the stretch to finish at even-par for the round.

"I'm in pretty good shape," Sprinkling said. "I hit the ball OK — except off the tee, where I struggled most of the day. It really helped to make some putts in the afternoon.

"The greens were really good and having played here a lot, I feel pretty confident on them. My caddie (R.C. Jones, who also played at Rio Mesa) is a member here, so he knows the greens really well also."

Like Sprinkling, Nickeas was 3 over after the first round, but bounced back to shoot an even-par 72 in the afternoon.

Nickeas said during the first round he struggled with his ball-striking, but was able to scramble around thanks to some strong work around the greens.

"The second round I hit 14 or 15 greens in regulation, but I didn't make any putts," Nickeas said. "I feel really great about how I played and about getting the chance to play over the weekend."

Nickeas joked that his caddie had to leave after 27 holes and the first hole he played after he left he made birdie.

"I guess I just needed him to leave to make a birdie," Nickeas said. "My goal is to finish in the top 10, but if my putter gets hot maybe I can sneak into the top five."

Midway through his afternoon round, Merich was 7 over. At that point, Merich said his will to win kicked in, helping him make four birdies down the stretch to get back to even par for the second round and finish at 3 over.

"I hit the ball great and I made a bunch of putts," Merich said. "I had a few bad holes, but I hung in there and just willed myself to play well."

Included in his string of birdies was a 40-foot putt on No. 5 and a 12-foot putt on No. 7.

Marsh survived a rollercoaster final nine that included four birdies and three bogeys.

"I putted really well all day," Marsh said. "I had really good speed all day and when you get greens that have this much slope and are this fast, you have to control the speed and I did that today."

Marsh knows something about putting on fast, sloped greens. His win at the 2005 USGA Mid-Amateur earned Marsh a spot in the 2006 Masters.

"It helps having played on greens like that," Marsh said.