ILE BIZARD, Quebec - University of South Alabama men's golfer Marc-Etienne Bussieres used his second straight round of par or better Friday to make the cut at the Desjardins Montreal Open presented by Lexus.

Playing as an amateur in the Canadian Professional Golf Tour event, Bussieres carded a 71 in the second round for a 36-hole score of 5-under-par 137 as he enters the weekend in a tie for 24th place.

"I'm really happy that I was able to make the cut, that was my first goal for the weekend," he said.  "I didn't know much about the field coming in other than it is one of the strongest on the Canadian Tour.  Now that I have been able to make the cut, I can set some specific goals for the weekend."

He recorded a pair of birdies on the final five holes of the par-71, 7,026-yard Saint-Raphael Golf Club to finish the back nine at 1-under par.  On the day, Bussieres sank four birdies, with three of those coming on par-four holes.

The performance came after he opened the tournament with a 5-under-par 66 on Thursday in which he collected seven birdies.  After bogeying the 412-yard, par-four 10th, Bussieres would go on to birdie four of the last eight holes.

"I know that most of the time if I have a wedge in my hand I have a good chance to put the ball close to the hole," he said of his play over the opening two days.  "I made sure to lay up on some of the par fives and take advantage of the short par fours on the course.  I gave myself some good looks for birdies and they dropped, especially yesterday.  The difference today was that I didn't putt as well - I missed four makeable putts on the front nine.

"If I can get a couple of those putts to drop tomorrow, it could be another good round."

Hugo Leon used an 11-under-par 60 Friday - making seven straight birdies to end the round - to take the lead going into the weekend, as he posted a 14-under-par 128 over the first two days of the tournament.  He leads Clayton Rask by three strokes.  Sixty of the 155 players who started on Thursday made the cut, which ended up at 2-under-par.

Third-round play at the Desjardins Montreal Open presented by Lexus begins at 7:39 a.m. (CST), with Bussieres scheduled to tee off at 10:12 a.m.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com.  Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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