When he walked off the course at Southern Pines (N.C.) Golf Club on Thursday afternoon, Chris Epperson held a share of both the course record and the lead in the eGolf Professional Tour's Donald Ross Championship.

By the time he had enjoyed barbecue for lunch and escaped the heat for a couple hours to see "The Hangover: Part II," Epperson didn't even own the best round of the day.

The Hilton Head Island native made 11 birdies en route to a blistering 62 and shared the course record until Jason Kokrak made eight birdies and an eagle to card a 10-under-par 61, leaving Epperson three shots off the lead and tied for seventh.

Still, Epperson leapt from 82nd place after the first round into contention at the halfway point.

"I just wanted to make the cut," he said. "I hadn't made a cut since Hilton Head (in February). I'll take a couple more of those and get my first win out here."

That hardly seemed possible after he was eight shots off the lead after an opening 70, but a quick tip from friend David Robinson and tour president David Siegel helped Epperson find his putting stroke.

"They told me I was standing over the ball a little too long, so today I just made my routine a little bit faster," Epperson said.

And the result?

"I was just going mental -- it was awesome," Epperson said. "I hit the ball like I always do, the same number of fairways and greens, but I just started making putts today for the first time in a while."