What a difference a day makes!

On Thursday, Michael Sims could do nothing wrong as he fired a six-under-par 64 to lead a Nationwide Tour event for the first time.

Yesterday, at the Northeast Pennsylvania Classic at the Elmhurst Country Club, he could very little right.

The form he enjoyed at the 6,690 yard, par-71 course in the town of Moscow a day earlier was nowhere to be seen as he recorded a three-over par 73 to slip from first into a tie for 19th.

Yet the ambitious 30-year-old Bermudian will still go into this weekend's final two rounds full of confidence, knowing that if he has conquered the course once, he can do it again and still have a shot at a maiden Tour victory.

At the very least, he'll be hoping for his third top-ten finish of the season and look to bolster the prizewinnings that will decide where his career goes at the end of the year.

The Belmont Hills touring pro admitted afterwards it had been a disappointing day as he managed to hit only seven of 14 fairways and eight of the 18 greens, needing 29 putts to get round.

"I didn't hit the ball very good," Sims said afterwards.

"I didn't give myself a lot of opportunities for birdies. You have to give yourself more chances, that's all there was to it.

"It was more the driver, I missed some fairways. I just didn't get a lot of good looks.

"I started the day off by missing three of the first five greens. I don't want to say that set the tone but it felt like I was constantly getting up-and-down, getting up-and-down for par. I can't be unpleased with where I am, I get to play the weekend. It is what it is, it's just a round of golf.

"The wind was gusting, the rain was falling. It was pretty dark out there which made it pretty tough for me to pick lines. It was dreary out there."

Sims started with a bogey on the second hole – his first of the tournament, having recorded a blemish-free round on Thursday – and then got back to even with a birdie at hole number six.

But bogeys at 10 and 11 and another at the 18th saw him plunge down the leaderboard as veteran Guy Boros took control of the tournament with a six-under 64 to lead at the half-way point at nine-under 131 – six shots ahead of Sims (137).

The winner on Sunday will pick up $94,500 from a total purse of $525,000.

Sims currently lies 70th on the moneylist, having won $58,368 so far this season after making the cut on eight occasions.