Ezra Aderhold blitzed the second round of the LVC. Photo: Alyssa Van Lanen / PDGA

Ezra Aderhold knows that a lead after two rounds of a tournament isn't enough to bring home the top prize.

But after a sizzling second round at the 2021 Las Vegas Challenge presented by Innova on Friday, he's placed himself firmly in contention in the desert.

Aderhold fired off a blistering 16-under 46, bringing his two-round total to 26 under par, to grab a two-stroke lead over Paul McBeth and Calvin Heimburg heading into moving day in Las Vegas.

While Aderhold's round, which checks in at an unofficial 1100 rating, came in pristine conditions on the Innova course, Catrina Allen had to battle the elements as the wind whipped in the afternoon to put herself atop the leaderboard in the FPO division.

Check out the PDGA results page for the Las Vegas Challenge »

After starting 8-under through the first seven holes, including an eagle on the par 4 seventh, Aderhold added a second eagle on the 16th for a 6-under run over the final five holes. His birdie on the 457-foot 17th locked up the sizzling round and he added a tester putt on the 18th for good measure to build a two-stroke cushion.

On his heels are McBeth and Heimburg, who finished 13-under and 12-under, respectively. They're both two shots back at 24 under par.

McBeth finished with a 13-under 49, one of 13 rounds of 10-under or better in the field. It included a highlight reel putt.

Heimburg, the leader after the first round, followed with a 12-under 50, including an eagle on the 16th.

Eagle McMahon also fired off a round of 50 to round out the lead card heading into Saturday. He sits four shots back of Aderhold.

There was plenty of moving heading into moving day. Jeremy Koling, like Aderhold, finished with two eagles in a 13-under round to jump 22 spots into a tie for ninth. Brian Earhart, who rattled off nine-straight birdies after his lone bogey on the day, jumped 54 spots into a tie for 11th at 16 under par. Adam Hammes shot an 11 under to rise 39 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 13th at 15 under par.

The pristine conditions took a turn in the afternoon as the FPO field hit the Innova course, which will be seen again by the entire DGPT field in Sunday's final round.

The leaderboard also took a turn as Allen erased a four-stroke deficit to Paige Pierce after the first round to take a three-stroke lead heading into the third round.

Allen managed the wind well, limiting her mistakes to only two OB throws and carding six birdies, an eagle and three bogeys one the way to a 6-under 62 to bring her tournament total to 12 under par. Allen did her best work off the tee and is currently leading the field in Fairway Hits at 85%, along with Circle 1 in Regulation at 81% and gained 7.2 strokes from Tee->Green in round two, according to UDisc.

It wasn't just the elements for Pierce, who was also battling a cut on her middle finger of her throwing hand, an ailment that clearly had an impact.

Pierce was even through the front nine while Allen climbed to within one stroke with a three under start. The two matched eagles on the 10th, birdies on the 11th and bogeys on the 12th before back-to-back sixes from Pierce put Allen in the lead. The 18th featured a two-stroke swing as Allen finished with back-to-back birdies and Pierce closed with a double bogey six, including two OB shots. Pierce had 11 OB strokes in round two after avoiding OB completely in the first round.

Ohn Scoggins gained nine spots to third place after tying for the hot round in the division at 6-under, 62. Scoggins managed the conditions well with only one bogey and OB stroke. Known for her putting, Ohn had her putter on display, hitting three circle two putts and is leading the field in that category at 38%. 

Jennifer Allen will round out Saturday'ss lead card after a conservative game plan led her to a 1-over, 69 round to bring her tournament total to 2-under. Allen is tied with Jessie Weese with a two-round total of 128, one shot ahead of Rebecca Cox and Nicole Bradley.

Coverage will begin on the Disc Golf Network at 2:20 pm ET with the men’s lead card teeing at 2:40 p.m. ET and the women’s lead card teeing at 4:32 p.m. ET. Live scoring and stats are available via UDisc Live.

(The Disc Golf Pro Tour contributed to this report)