Men's Golf Southern Conference

Chattanooga Holds Four-Stroke Advantage Entering Final Round

UTC Men Lead Georgia Southern, Whose Lethem Remains in First

 

Team Standings

Individual Standings

Team-by-Team Standings

Round Three Tee Times

PHOTO SLIDESHOW

 

FLORENCE, S.C. ? With four individuals in the top 10, Chattanooga’s steady play has placed it atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of round two at the 2009 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship at the 7,062-yard, par 72 Country Club of South Carolina.

 

Georgia Southern’s Drew Lethem, who opened play on Monday with a six-under par 66, fired an even par 72 in round two to maintain a two stroke advantage over a group of four players at -4.

 

Lethem scattered four birdies along with four bogies on the day to remain in first place. As a team, GSU shot 292 to total 570 (-6) after two rounds, four stokes off of Chattanooga’s leading pace.

 

For UTC, second-place Derek Rende (67-73=140) was joined by teammates Fredrik Qvicker (T6th, 69-72=141), Stephan Jaeger (9th, 71-71=142) and Ben Rickett (10th, 72-71=143) in the top 10.

 

Furman posted the lowest score of the day at two-under par 286, matching its first day total. Redshirt-freshman Matt Broome fired a 69 (-3) on Monday to move into a tie for second place at 140 (-4) while the Paladins’ Daniel Bowden finished the day in a tie for sixth place at 141 (-3).

 

Monday’s best individual round came from UNC Greensboro’s Will Bowman, who carded a four-under par 68. The junior fired a 31 on the front nine and battled the windy afternoon conditions to close with 37 on the back.

 

Play was halted for 1:10 during the morning due to a lightning delay while the afternoon saw the wind wreaking havoc across the course. As a result, Monday’s average score (74.89) was nearly a stroke higher than in round one.

 

Western Carolina’s Tanner Briele (69-71=140), who entered the round in a tie for third place, moved into a four-man deadlock in second place with a four-under par total.

 

The final round of the championship begins Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. ET with results updated every three holes at www.golfstatresults.com.

 

Top-10 Individuals

1. Drew Lethem, Georgia Southern         66-72=138      -6

T2. Matt Broome, Furman                      71-69=140      -4

T2. Will Bowman, UNC Greensboro        72-68=140      -4

T2. Derek Rende, Chattanooga               67-73=140      -4

T2. Tanner Briele, Western Carolina         69-71=140      -4

T6. Daniel Bowden, Furman                   71-70=141      -3

T6. Logan Blondell, Georgia Southern    71-70=141      -3

T6. Fredrik Qvicker, Chattanooga            69-72=141      -3

9.   Stephan Jaeger, Chattanooga          71-71=142      -2

10. Ben Rickett, Chattanooga                 72-71=143      -1

 

Team Standings

1. Chattanooga                  279-287=566        -10

2. Georgia Southern           278-292=570          -6

3. Furman                          286-286=572          -4

4. Western Carolina            286-293=579         +3

5. Elon                              295-297=592       +16

6. Wofford                        306-287=593       +17

7. UNC Greensboro            293-301=594       +18

8. Davidson                       299-296=595       +19

9. College of Charleston     293-303=596       +20

10. Samford                      302-302=604       +28

11. Appalachian State        300-311=611       +35