Dave Ellis of Negaunee checks over his scorecard during the weekend at the 107th Upper Peninsula Golf Association tournament held at the Escanaba Country Club. (Dennis Grall photo)

ESCANABA — Jon Ellis had the ideal response Friday when he was asked about shooting 13 strokes beneath his opening-day score in the 107th Upper Peninsula Golf Association men’s tournament.

“That’s golf,” Ellis said after posting a sizzling 2-under-par 69 at challenging Escanaba Country Club. “Some days are better than others. This was a whole new day.”

His 69 was two strokes better than three golfers who matched par, topped by Jiseung Choi of Portage Lake in Houghton, who leads the field by a stroke at 139.

Choi was born in South Korea and played golf at Houghton High School.

“I did not putt as good as (Thursday), but I’m in a good spot,” he said. “I’m happy with where I’m at for the weekend.”

Choi shot 38-33–71, with opposite nines from Thursday’s round, as on Friday he birdied three of the opening four holes on the back nine.

He planned “to be a little more aggressive going for the pin” on Saturday. But he grinned and added “I will be a little more smart about it.”

Ellis, who golfs out of Pine Grove Country Club in Iron Mountain and is the 2009 UPGA titlist, used consecutive birdies on holes 15 and 16 to set up a strong finish that propelled him up the leaderboard among 93 golfers at the midway point.

But he was to be in the first flight, not the championship flight, though he could still win a second title with two excellent rounds.

His birdie on No. 15 was special.

“I was just trying not to putt it off the green,” he said. “I hit it softly. The putt on 15 was a little bit unexpected.”

The pin locations on Nos. 14 and 15 drew the ire of many players Friday, with 15 on the downward left-side slope. It was one of several tough pin placements that contributed to exceedingly slow, torturous rounds.

Ellis, who managed to avoid three-putting on the slick greens, also had birdies on Nos. 1 and 5. He bogeyed Nos. 7 and 13. He said 13, which required a 180-yard tee shot into a stiff wind with a pond on the right and out-of-bounds on the left “was a sporty hole. I was happy to get a bogey (four).”

“I had a little better feel on the greens today,” he conceded. “The greens were awesome, they ran really true and they were fast.”

He tried to stay beneath the pin on his approach shots, knowing downhill putts had little chance of dropping into the cup and were likely to slide well past.

A stroke back of Choi was incoming North Central High School senior Bryson Mercier, who shot par-71 Friday.

“I’m going to sleep with my putter tonight,” Mercier said. “I definitely kept myself in it with my putter. My short game overall was stellar.”

He said the 10-20 mph west wind “played a lot tougher (than Thursday) because of the wind. It is part of this course. Every 15 minutes it seemed to switch. It was very tough to judge. You had to stay focused and stay patient.”

After bogies on 13 and 14, Mercier said he “made a good par putt on 15 and I got a birdie (four) on 16.”

He plans to play his “usual aggressive style today” but is fully aware “there are a lot of areas here where things can get interesting. I’ll be aggressive on some shots and careful on others.”

Mercier was at 140, four strokes ahead of Ben Strong of Ontonagon. Two-time former champion Mark Clements skied to a 77 Friday and was at 145 with Johnny Kositzky of ECC. Kositzky hit 73 Friday.

Scott Prunick of Marquette, the 2020 runner-up, is at 146 after a second consecutive 73. Also at 146 is Chad Tirschel of Pine Grove after posting 71. Scott Lancour of ECC shot 75 and is at 148. Defending champion Matt Argall of Gladstone Terrace Bluff also matched par and is at 149. At 150 are Mark Ray of Highland, and Dom Benetti and Dylan Gauthier of ECC. Ray will not play today because he will attend his brother’s birthday party in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Tirschel, who missed an eagle-2 on No. 18 by two inches Thursday, said he played steady.

“My tee shots were a lot better today,” he said. “I kept it in play and kept it around the greens and around the pins.”

He plans to use the same plan today.

“I’ll try to shoot for the top 10. I’ll just try to hang around and take what the course gives me.”