RIVER HILLS, Wisc. — Brian Haskell stood at the top of the leaderboard after the first day of the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur and seemed to be in great position to advance. But things fell apart the second day.

Back this year at the same tournament, the St. Joseph golfer worried for a moment that this history might repeat itself.

After shooting in the top seven of 264 golfers on the first day, Haskell started Sunday with bogeys on three of the first six holes at the Milwaukee Country Club.

“My caddie, Matt Thrasher, was with me last time, and at that point we just talked about how we were in the same position,” Haskell said. “I started out last time on the second day with a few bogeys, it snowballed and I let it get away from me. We both said we weren’t going to let it get away from us this time.

“I just kept my composure. It wasn’t a low score, but it was good enough to get in the top 64.”

Haskell, after shooting a 1-under on Saturday, had shot a 6-over 76, which lifted his total to 145. However, that still was good enough for a tie for 31st place.

Brad Nurski, another St. Joseph man, shot a 3-under 73 for the day. It put him at a total of 143, which tied for 14th place.

The top 64 golfers advanced to match-play competition, which will weed down the field over the next four days to one winner. That winner gets a place in the Masters tournament at Augusta National in Augusta, Ga.

Nurski, after hitting just three bogeys on Saturday, hit seven on Sunday. However, he had four birdies and seven pars.

“I’ve been pretty consistent,” Nurski said. “I’ve been making pars, staying away from big numbers. Knock on wood, I haven’t had a double-bogey yet.”

Part of the reason for the higher scores across the board on Sunday was weather, Haskell said.

“The wind came up a little bit, it was cooling off,” Haskell said. “Any missed shots, the wind kind of pushed it into the rough. And on top of that, personally I just didn’t hit it as well as I did yesterday. But it was good enough, and I’m just thrilled to advance.”

Richard Berkmeyer of St. Louis led the stroke play portion of the tournament at 2-under with a two-day total of 138. Tim Mickelson, the brother of Phil Mickelson, stood one stroke behind at 139.