CHEYENNE – Parker Paxton is familiar with the adage about a good craftsman not blaming his tools. That didn’t stop him from changing putters over the summer.

“I didn’t like looking down at the old one, because it wasn’t performing very good,” the Riverton product said with a laugh. “We’ll go ahead and blame the putter instead of the person using it, right? I felt like I needed something different to look at, and had been eyeing this one for a while, so I decided to make a change.”

It’s hard to argue with the results.

Paxton – who just finished his sophomore season at the University of Colorado – fired a 6-under-par 64 during the second round of the 70th Tyrrell Auto Centers Wyoming State Open on Saturday at Airport Golf Course. Paxton sits at 14-under 126 after two rounds and leads the tournament overall by three strokes.

“The story of my week is that I’ve just gotten the putter rolling,” Paxton said. “I made most of the ones I should make. If they don’t go in, I detach myself from the result and try to base whether it’s a good putt on whether I hit my line, whether I hit my speed or whether I read it good.

“I’ve been doing all of those pretty solid regardless of whether they’ve gone in or not. Most of my putts (Saturday) were quality rolls and that’s what I’m after.”

Paxton started his second round on Hole No. 1, and carded birdies on the first two holes. He added another on the par-3 Hole No. 7 to get to 11-under for the tournament. Paxton followed that with an eagle on the par-5 Hole No. 10 before notching birdies on Hole Nos. 12, 13, 14 and 17. He closed his round with a bogey on the par-5 Hole No. 18.

“I went from a plumber’s neck putter to a slant, and I’ve been lining it up better ever since,” Paxton said. “It feels more stable through the stroke and has given me something different to look at. A couple of my teammates at (Colorado) use the same putter, so I knew it was going to be my next one.

“I’m glad I finally got it in my hands.”

This is Paxton’s second time playing in the Wyoming Open. He last played in 2020 when his older brother, Easton Paxton, won the championship amateur title.

Paxton returned to the Wyoming Open because of the competition and proximity to Boulder, Colorado. He also knows the 6,114-yard Airport Golf Course can be challenging.

“There are some good pros that come here and I want to see how I stack up against them,” Paxton said. “Airport is such a unique course and a unique challenge. It’s great short game work because you have all these drivable par-4s. It’s good accuracy practice off the tee, and the greens roll good.

“… If you want to rip driver around this place, you basically have to drive it down a hallway because the fairways are tight and the trees aren’t very friendly. You have to practice getting out of situations you don’t want to be in. I’ve done a good job of keeping myself out of those situations so far.”

If Paxton maintains his lead after Sunday’s final round, he’ll be the first amateur to win the overall Wyoming Open title since Laramie’s John Murdock IV in 2018.

Dominic Piccirillo of Salem, South Carolina, leads the professional field at 11-under 129. He fired a 7-under 63 during the second round, carding eight birdies and a bogey. Five of those birdies and the lone bogey came on the front nine.

“I didn’t do a whole lot great, but I made a couple really good putts,” Piccirillo said. “It wasn’t pretty. I got up and down probably three times that I shouldn’t have.

“Outside of that bogey on (Hole No.) 7, where I put it in a bad spot with a bad lie, I got up and down everywhere and snuck in putts. Outside of a couple long putts, I didn’t do anything spectacular.”

Braydon Swapp, Jake Ezell and Tyler Diehl are tied for second at 9-under. Ezell finished his second round at 6-under.

“I haven’t gone long of a green the whole tournament,” said Ezell, who lives in Austin, Texas. “One or two of those cost me last year after an otherwise decent start. I’m right back where I was two years ago. Now, I know I can hang.”

Ezell feels like he does a better job of managing the golf course than he did the last time he put himself in contention at the Wyoming Open.

“You’re between clubs here on some tough pins, and that’s tricky,” Ezell said. “If you make the wrong decision, you can be behind a Christmas tree. My decisions were better, and I haven’t been putting myself in any trouble by short-siding it. That’s really paid off.”

Murdock, Patrick Stolpe, Jack Dozer, Jimmy Morton, and River Smalley are tied for fifth at 8-under.

Smalley is playing in the Wyoming Open for the first time after being persuaded to enter by some friends.

“I didn’t make a ton of putts, but I made the ones that you’re supposed to make,” Smalley said. “I made the short ones and left myself in good position on the long ones.”