Nerves weren’t the reason Dusty Fielding got little sleep Friday night.

But after his performance Saturday in the Navajo Trail Open, nerves could impact his sleep Saturday night.

Or, if he’s lucky, the kink in his neck and the throbbing headache that robbed him of a good-night’s rest Friday will return.

“Tournament-wise, I don’t think I’ve ever been this calm shooting that type of score,” Fielding said after firing a course-record 10-under-par 61 at Hillcrest Golf Club on Saturday in the second round of the NTO. “I had a kink in my neck (after Friday’s first round) and then a pounding headache. I still had it (in Saturday’s round). I don’t know if it had me a little distracted. But I was calm all day.”

After a ho-hum 1-under 70 on Friday, Saturday’s effort springboarded the St. George, Utah, golfer to the top of the leaderboard in the professional division with an 11-under 131 – thought to be a 36-hole record for the tournament. That’s good for a three-stroke advantage over first-round leader Zenon Brown of Arvada, who followed Friday’s 66 with a solid 68 on Saturday. No other players were within eight shots of the leader.

Fielding broke the previous course record of 62 set by Durango High School graduate and former Fort Lewis College golfer Devin Schreiner during a non-competitive round in 2010. Schreiner was in the group behind Fielding on Saturday, and Schreiner, who is nine back after a 68 on Saturday, was among the first to congratulate Fielding on the feat.

“Thanks for breaking my course record,” Schreiner said, laughing, later adding, “I’m proud of you, man.”

Because of the kink in his neck and the headache, “I thought it might be pretty miserable,” Fielding, 32, said of Saturday. But a fast start set the stage for his record-setting day.

With the professionals starting on the back nine Saturday, Fielding canned about a 30-foot putt for an eagle-3 on No. 10 – one of seven consecutive threes to start the day en route to a 7-under 29 on the back nine. It could have been even lower, but he missed a 5-foot birdie putt for eagle on No. 17.

He did have a bogey – on No. 2 – but birdied Nos. 5-7 to get to 10-under with two holes left.

“I got to a point where I was 9-under, and then there’s the part of you that says, ‘I can get to 10-under,’” said Fielding, who said his career best is a 59 on a short Utah course during casual. He said his lowest in competition before Saturday also was 10-under, but on a par-72 course, making Saturday a career competitive low.

“I birdied No. 7 (his 16th hole) to get to 10-under, but saw the pin on No. 9 when I went past it and knew it would be tough. I was thinking birdie on No. 8, but didn’t get it – my putt was just a couple inches left. And I made a good up-and-down (for par) on No. 9.”

Fielding said he has played in the NTO “two or three times, but not for three or for years. The first time I think I finished sixth or seventh ... I need to get one (a victory) in Colorado.

While he struggled to score during his first-round 70, he said, Fielding did open the week with a 64, the low score in Thursday’s pro-am. And he said he was coming off a victory in the Provo Open in Utah.

“So I came in feeling pretty good about my game,” he said. “I played well in the pro-am and didn’t putt well and still shot a 64, so I thought it (a low score) was out there.”

He finished the day with nine birdies, an eagle and a bogey.

“Today I made some good footage of putts,” he said of they key to the low round. “I got in pretty good position where I could make a good stroke. Yesterday (Friday), it seemed like I was downhill all day (with his putts).”

In Sunday’s final round, Fielding will tee off in the last foursome at 2:30 p.m., along with Brown – the only other player within eight shots of the leader.

“I’m putting real well and hitting the ball real well,” Brown said. “I’m giving myself chances.”

bpeterson@durangoherald.com