Eagles Stay in Contention at NCAA Southeast Regional
Georgia Southern tied for sixth place, one stroke out of fifth
OCALA, Fla. - Georgia Southern stayed within striking distance of the top five on Friday, May 20th, by firing a second-round 286 (-2) to put the Eagles in a sixth-place tie with Kennesaw State at 5-under at the 2011 NCAA Southeast Regional. Freshman Hayden Anderson (Knoxville, Tenn.) shot a career-low 69 (-3) at the par-72 Golden Ocala Golf Club to help Georgia Southern stay in contention. Defending National Champion Augusta State leads the 14-team field with an 11-under 565. N.C. State's Mitchell Sutton, starting the day in a fourth-place tie, recorded a five-under 67 to move into first place in the individual standings with a 135 (-9).
"We got three out of our four scores we needed today, and are still only two strokes out of second," said Head Coach Larry Mays. "We had a great bounce back round by Lewis (Gruber) and a 69 by our freshman Hayden (Anderson) that was huge. Logan (Blondell) birdied his last hole to get under-par and give the team a good score we needed."
Georgia Southern's 571(-5) team total through two rounds is the best 36-hole total this season and second-lowest total at a NCAA Regional in program history. The Eagles missed the record by one stroke as the 2001 team posted a 6-under 570 two-round total at the par-72 Golden Horseshoe Golf Club in Williamsburg, Va.
Only two strokes separate Georgia Southern from four of the top five teams. GSU is one stroke behind Arkansas and Baylor, both tied for fourth place at 6-under. Florida and N.C. State are in a second-place tie at 7-under. The top five teams in the regional advance to the NCAA Championships at Karsten Creek in Stillwater, Okla., May 31st-June 5th.
The Eagles started the final round of the 2010 NCAA Southeast Regional in eighth place before posting their lowest round of the tournament to finish tied for fourth place. Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA National Championships with a 863 (+23).
"Our team definitely knows how to come from behind," added Mays. "Obviously there are good teams in this field and it's going to be tight again. That experience last year will help us go deep and put up some solid numbers down the stretch. Our team has to have four scores tomorrow."
Anderson, who opened the day in a tie for 32nd place, finished the second round in a 17th-place tie at 2-under. The freshman used three birdies, along with a bogey-free scorecard, to move up 15 spots. Anderson shot 1-under on the front-nine before birdies on the par-4 10th and 13th led him to sign for a 3-under 69.
Senior Logan Blondell finished in red numbers for the second-straight day, shooting a 1-under 71 to head into the final round in a tie for 10th-place at 4-under (140). The Lakeland, Fla., native scattered three birdies around the course, including his second-straight birdie on the par-5 18th hole in as many days.
Junior Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) returned to postseason form, firing a 3-under 69 in the second round. He had four birdies around the course and only one bogey on his scorecard. Gruber carded a set of birdies on the third and fifth holes, before signing for another pair on holes No. 10 and 12. Senior Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) posted a 5-over 77 to start the final round in a tie for 48th-place. Sophomore Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria) finished the second round two strokes behind Deal with a 79.
Georgia Southern is paired with Southeastern Louisiana and Oregon for the final round. Lewis Gruber tees off first for the Eagles at 7:30 a.m. on hole No.10. Each player will follow in 10-minute increments.
"A lot of teams have started good rounds on hole No. 10 this week, so hopefully we can make some noise coming from that side," said Mays. "We started on the back nine for our final round at last year's regional, so maybe that is some good karma for us. The bottom line is we have to play well."
Live round-by-round scoring of the Southeast Regional is available at www.golfstat.com.
Mocs Tied for Eighth Heading into Final Round at NCAA Colorado Regional
Freshman Chris Robb is tied for sixth individually at -5 two shots off the pace
ERIE, Colo.---Chris Robb (Aberdeenshire, Scotland) one-upped his first round shooting 69 Friday in the NCAA Colorado Regional at Colorado National Golf Club. Robb's three-under par round pushed him to minus five 139, tied for sixth two shots off the pace.
"I'm really excited about what I've seen from Chris," said head coach Mark Guhne. "It's not a surprise at all, even for a freshman. He's very talented and it has come together for him thus far."
Chattanooga is tied for eighth with Northwestern at 579 (+3) after today's level-par 288. The Mocs are eight shots behind TCU in fifth and seven behind No. 24 Arizona State and Colorado State in sixth.
"We have a lot of work to do tomorrow," Guhne added. "We are far from out of it, but we have a very tight margin for error. I have no doubts in our ability to make that run.
"We were close to doing it today," he noted. "A few more putts fall and it gets contagious. We'll try to do just that tomorrow."
Robb's 69 was not the only sub-par round for Chattanooga. Junior Stephan Jaeger (Munich, Germany) carded a one-under par 71 with three birdies. He and Robb combined for seven birdies and 26 pars in round two. Jaeger is tied for 26th overall at level par 144.
Benni Weilguni (Langelois, Austria) and Davis Bunn (Knoxville, Tenn.) each shot 74 (+2), while Steven Fox (Hendersonville, Tenn.) had the drop score of 77 (+5). Weilguni is tied for 46th at 147 (+3), while Bunn (151) and Fox (152) are tied for 63rd and 68th, respectively.
No. 1 Oklahoma State is dominating the field at 25-under par 551. The Cowboys lead No. 13 Auburn by 16 as the Tigers are nine under through 36 holes. No. 12 Georgia and No. 25 Clemson are tied for third at 570 (-6), with TCU one shot back in fifth at 571.
Sean Einhaus and Kevin Tway of OSU are joined by UGA's T.J. Mitchell in the individual lead at seven under, 137. Niclas Carlsson (Auburn) and Peter Uihlein (OSU) are tied for four at minus six 138, while Robb is tied for sixth at 139 (-5) with Blayne Barber (Auburn) and Scott Pinckney (Arizona State).
The Mocs are slated to begin their final round at 7:30 a.m., once again starting on hole No. 10. Fox leads off followed by Bunn, Weilguni, Jaeger and Robb. UTC is paired with Colorado State and Northwestern.
The top five teams and low individual on a non-advancing team move on to the NCAA Championship May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Okla. Follow live hole-by-hole scoring via men's golf schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Davidson's Fountain One Stroke Out of NCAA Finals Qualifying Slot With One Regional Round To Go
RADFORD, Va. - Davidson freshman Richard Fountain remains four strokes out of the lead and one stroke out of the lone NCAA Championship individual qualifying berth after firing a one-over-par 73 Friday in the second round of the 54-hole NCAA Virginia Tech Regional at The Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech. Fountain will tee off for the final round from the 10th hole at 9:50 a.m.Saturday.
Fountain boasts a two-round score of 145 (72-73), one-over par on the challenging par-72, 7658-yard course, and is locked in a five-way tie for fifth place overall after sitting alone in seventh at even par after the first round Thursday. Heleads 15 players ranked in the Top 100 nationally by GolfStat, including three in the Top 15.
UNC Wilmington's Josh Brock is the lone individual not on one of the low-five scoring teams ahead of Fountain. Brock also fired a second round, one-over 73 to place in a tie for third with No. 13 James White of Georgia Tech at 144, even-par.
The low-scoring five teams and the lowest scoring individual not on one of those teams will advance to the NCAA National Championship May 31-June 5 at Karsten Creek Golf Course in Stillwater, Okla.
Fountain is the first Davidson golfer to compete in an NCAA regional golf tournament since the regional tournament format was adopted in 1989. He became the first Davidson golfer since Rusty Boyd in 1973 to win individual medalist honors at the SoCon Tournament in April, thus earning the league's automatic individual bid to the NCAA Regional. Boyd is also the last Wildcat to compete in the NCAA national tournament (1973).
No. 18 Kyle Scott (Georgia Tech) and Abraham Ancer (Oklahoma) lead the field at 141, three-under par. Payne McLeod (UNC Wilmington), Kevin Miller (Kent State), Sebastian Soderberg (Coastal Carolina) and Sang Yi (LSU) are all tied with Fountain at one-over par. McLeod and Soderberg are presently threats to Fountain as they are on teams outside the top five. Julian Suri (Duke) and Harold Varner (East Carolina) are tied for 10th at two-over par, while five are tied at three-over. Varner presently is not on a top-five team.
No. 4 Georgia Tech leads the field at 582, five-over par, and is trailed by No. 16 Duke (585, +9), Oklahoma (588, +4), Kent State (592, +8) and No. 10 Louisiana State (596, +3). Coastal Carolina (299, +11) is just three strokes out of the top five at 599.
Fountain started the second round on the par-4 10th hole, and birdied it and the par-5 12th hole to go to two-under. He bogeyed the 18th hole to finish the back nine at one-under, but went two-over on the front-nine.
Fountain carded a bogey on hole No. 4, but got the stroke back with a great tee shot on the par-3 fifth hole to setup a birdie putt. He tapped in for bogey on the ensuing par-4 sixth hole though to return to even par, and then had to tap in for bogey again on No. 8 to go to one-over.
On Thursday, Fountain was the lone player to shoot an even-par first round. He was consistent all day, never ranging one below or above par as he tallied fourbirdies and four bogeys.
Brazeal Slips on Day Two of the NCAA Regional
RADFORD, VA. -- Freshman Terrier, Chandler Brazeal slipped to tied for 67th overall after an 81 (+9) second round at the NCAA Regional on the 7,685 yard par-72 Pete Dye River Course of Virginia Tech.
Brazeal started the round on the back nine, with three bogeys and a double bogey to jump to +5 five for the round after four holes. After three straight pars, Brazeal finished his front nine with a double bogey on 17 and a bogey on 18.
On the back nine, Brazeal had three straight pars, followed by a birdie on the fourth hole. He finished the round with four pars and a bogey to card an 81 and a 159 over the first two rounds.
Brazeal will complete the NCAA Regional Saturday morning.