Perkovich, Wofford first at Donald Ross Intercollegiate
MORGANTON, N.C. – The Wofford men’s golf team shot the best 18-hole and 36-hole rounds of the school’s Division I era Monday at the Donald Ross Intercollegiate, carding an opening-round 9-under-par 271 and a second-round 11-under-par 269 to sit in first place at 20-under par by 10 strokes.
Wofford’s 11-under 269 in round two bested the program’s low-18 record of 277 by nine strokes, while the 36-hole 20-under-par 540 beat the school 36-hole record of 557 by 17 strokes.
Leading the Terriers was senior George Perkovich, who is tied for first place after two rounds at 7-under par. The senior shot an opening-round 2-under-par 68 and a second-round 5-under-par 65, tying the Terrier low-18 record with his 65. Perkovich carded nine birdies on the day, including five in a bogey-free second round. He joins Neill O’Brien, Mike McKenzie and Garrett Medeiros as the four Terriers in program history to card a 65.
Freshman Andrew Novak had the best day of his young career, posting an opening-round 4-under-par 66 and a second-round 2-under-par 68 to sit in fourth place at 6-under par. Novak had seven birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey in the first round, followed by four birdies and two bogeys in round two.
Also in the top five for Wofford is senior Brent McKenzie, who is tied for fifth at 3-under par. McKenzie got his day started with a 1-under 69 and carded four birdies and two bogeys in round two for a 2-under 68. Junior Brannon Hudson is tied for 10th place at 1-under par, posting scores of 2-under 68 and 1-over 71.
Senior Chandler Brazeal posted rounds of 4-over 74 and 2-under 68 to sit 2-over and tied for 23rd.
The Wofford College men’s golf team will take its 10-stroke lead into Tuesday’s final round beginning at 9 a.m.
Eckstein tied for lead, Davidson second at Donald Ross Intercollegiate
MORGANTON, N.C. – In addition to Todd Eckstein sharing the top spot on the individual leaderboard, Davidson fired a school-record 9-under 271 in round two and sits in second place following day one of the Donald Ross Intercollegiate.
The 54-hole event hosted by Appalachian State is being played on the par-70, 6,718-yard Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club layout.
Eckstein (-7), who opened with a personal-best 3-under 67, bettered his career low for the third consecutive round with an afternoon total of 4-under 66. The junior finished the day with 10 birdies and will enter the final round tied with Ryan Fricker (Bethune-Cookman) and George Perkovich (Wofford) for the lead.
Eckstein has recorded three consecutive rounds under par, while holding a 67.0 stroke average.
Davidson (-10), which played the morning in 1-under 279, posted four sub-par scores in the second round. The Wildcats are 10 strokes behind tournament leader Wofford and 18 swings clear of Elon and Presbyterian, which are tied for third.
Looking for his 15th career top-10 showing, Richard Fountain (-2) is tied for seventh with a 36-hole total of 138 (71-67). Fellow senior Sam Echikson (E) backed a 2-under 68 with a 72 and is currently tied for 13th, just two back of his teammate.
Like Eckstein, sophomore David Sargent (+2 / T-23rd) recorded his best collegiate round in the afternoon with a 1-under 69. Ralph Blasey (+2 / T-23rd) is also in the top 25 out of 80 competitors following scores of 73 and 69.
The third and final round will begin Tuesday morning.
Elon tied for third at Donald Ross Intercollegiate
MORGANTON, N.C. – Will DiIanni posted two sub-par rounds on day one of the Donald Ross Intercollegiate to lead the Elon men's golf team to a tie for third with a score of 568 (285-283) in the 13-team event.
Thanks to seven birdies and 24 pars, DiIanni fired back-to-back 69s on Monday to tie for seventh with a two-round score of 138.
Jack Adkins is also in the top 20 of the 80-player field thanks to rounds of 70 and 71 at the Mimosa Hills Golf and Country Club. Adkins is tied for 17th after tallying seven birdies.
In a tie for 32nd is Jeff Kreiger, who fired a 144 (74-70) over his first 36 holes of the tournament. Kreiger was tied for the third-highest number of pars on day one with 25.
John Somers' 146 (73-73) places him in a tie for 42nd. Somers was one of nine golfers to record an eagle on Monday.
Finally, Raphael Higuet sits in a tie for 48th after rounds of 73 and 74 give him a two-round total of 147.
Three golfers lead the individual field with 7-under 133s - Davidson's Todd Eckstein, Bethune-Cookman's Ryan Fricker and Wofford's George Perkovich.
Including the Phoenix, four of the top five spots are held by Southern Conference squads. Wofford (540) leads the field, while Davidson (550) is second and host Appalachian State (569) is fifth.
Tied with Elon for third is Presbyterian.
The third and final round of the tournament will be played on Tuesday.
Appalachian State fifth at Donald Ross Intercollegiate
MORGANTON, N.C. – Appalachian State completed the first 36 holes of its own Donald Ross Intercollegiate on Monday. As a team, the Mountaineers carded a program-record 569 to sit in fifth place at 9-over par. Wofford leads the field after shooting, good for 20-under-par.
Caleb Keck leads the way for the Mountaineers after firing a 68 in the first round and a 71 in round two. Keck sits in a tie for 10th individually at 1-under par. Keck also eagled on the 10th hole.
John Michael Cole finds himself in a tie for 32nd after shooting a 70 and 74 on the day. Cole is currently 4-over par. Eric Eberspeaker is not far behind at 5-over par for the first 36 holes. Eberspeaker shot a 70 and 75.
After 36 holes, Casey Komline is in a tie for 48th at 7-over par with a 72 and 75 in the first two rounds. Lee Mitchell shot an 82 in the first round and followed that up by firing a 69 in round two. Mitchell is currently 11-over par in a tie for 64th.
The Mountaineers also had golfers playing as individuals on Monday. Andrew Furr is tied for 42nd after 36 holes with a 73 in both rounds to be 6-over par. Furr also had an eagle on the day. Dustin Abele and Patrick Moriarty find themselves in a tie for 56th after shooting 75 and 74. Jake Williams shot a 78 in the first round and a 73 in round two and is tied for 64th at 11-over par. Kyle Austin is in 78th after shooting an 87 and 75 and is currently 22-over par.
The Mountaineers will conclude play on Tuesday with the last 18 holes. Play will begin at 8 a.m. A final recap and results will be made available Tuesday evening.
Chattanooga fourth at AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic
DULUTH, Ga. – The Chattanooga Mocs shot a tournament-record 273 (-15) to surge into fourth place at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate at Berkeley Hills Country Club. The record round gave UTC a 36-hole total of 566 Monday, 10-under par, and a three-stroke deficit on the leaderboard.
The Mocs started out with a 293 in the morning round. Liam Johnston and Ewan Scott led the effort, shooting 71 and 73, respectively. The 293 ranked ninth in the morning rounds. Then the fireworks started.
Johnston, Scott and Wes Gosselin all shot their career-low rounds with 5-under par 67s. The trio was joined by Davis Bunn, whose 72 combined to give UTC its 273.
Johnston is tied for second at 6-under-par 138, one shot behind USF’s Chase Koepka at 137. Scott is tied for sixth at minus-4 (140), while Gosselin is tied for 18th at 1-under (143).
Bunn is at 2-over 146 after a morning-round 74. Chris Robb shot back-to-back 75s for a total of 150. Stuart Thomas played as an individual, carding rounds of 72 and 80 for 152.
The final round Tuesday starts at 8:50 a.m. Robb leads off for Chattanooga on No. 1 followed by Bunn (9:00), Gosselin (9:10), Scott (9:20) and Johnston (9:30).
Georgia Southern eighth at AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic
DULUTH, Ga. – The Georgia Southern golf team finished the first two rounds of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic at 1-under and stands in eighth place, while Scott Wolfes shot 5-under in the second round to move into a tie for second at Berkley Hills Country Club on Monday afternoon.
The teams played 36 holes Monday, and it was all birdies and pars in the final 18 for Wolfes. The junior recorded six straight pars to open the round, birdied the next four holes and added another birdie for a 67, which is tied for his second-lowest round at Georgia Southern.
His performance in the second round helped keep the Eagles under par for the day and in the race for a top-five team finish. Georgia Southern is a stroke behind Mercer (-2) and three back of Ole Miss (-4) and VCU, which are tied for fifth. South Alabama (-13) is in first, followed by South Florida (-12), tourney host Georgia State (-11) and Chattanooga (-10).
Wolfes is tied with four other players for second at 6-under, and South Florida’s Chase Koepka is first at 7-under. Will Evans joined Wolfes by shooting a 1-under-par 71 in the first round, and Christian Humber was even-par with a 72.
Wolfes started his day with four straight pars and birdied hole 6 to move to 1-under. He bogeyed hole 11 and birdied 15 for his round-one 71.
The senior was even through the first 10 holes of the second round but sandwiched a birdie with four bogeys on the back to post a 75.
Humber, who started the first round on hole 4, played his first seven holes at 2-under before three straight bogeys moved him to 1-over. He finished with a birdie on hole 3 to card a 72. The senior birdied two of his first three holes in the second round and was 1-under through seven holes but logged three bogeys and a double-bogey on the back nine to finish with a 76.
Charlie Martin started his day with a birdie on hole 3 and was 2-over after nine holes. He birdied hole 1, the 17th hole of his round, and finished with a 73. The junior notched three birdies and three bogeys in the second round to finish with a 72.
Kim Koivu’s lone blemish through the front nine in the first round was a double-bogey on hole 2, and he birdied 10 to move to 1-over. He bogeyed hole 12 but birdied 15 and 17 to get to even par. A bogey on the 18th gave him a 73. The junior had three birdies in the second round but two of his three hiccups were double-bogeys, giving him a 74.
Matthew Mierzejewski, playing as an individual and seeing his first tournament action of the season, posted an 83 in the first round. The junior righted the ship a little bit in the second round, posting three birdies, but got into trouble on holes 3 and 9 and finished with a 79.
The tournament concludes Tuesday, and the Eagles will tee off hole 1 at 8:05 a.m.
UNCG ninth at AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic
DULUTH, Ga. – The UNCG men’s golf team fired a 2-over-par 578 and sits in ninth place overall after the first two rounds of the annual AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic hosted by Georgia State at the Berkeley Hill Country Club. The Spartans will conclude the 54-hole event Tuesday with the final round beginning with 9 a.m. tee times for UNCG.
The Spartans opened the tournament with a 4-over-par 292 before rebounding with a 2-under-par 286. Nationally ranked South Alabama leads the tournament with a 13-under-par 563 (283-280), while South Florida is second at 564 and host Georgia State is third at 565. Chase Koepka of South Florida holds the individual lead with a 7-under-par 137 while four other golfers are tied for second with a 6-under 138.
Freshman Carter Jenkins leads the Spartans with a 2-under par 142 to sit in a tie for 13th overall. Jenkins opened the tournament with an even-par 72 before carding the Spartans’ low round of the afternoon with a 2-under-par 70.
Sophomore Taylor Coalson posted an even par 144 as he carded a 1-under-par 71 in round one and a 1-over-par 73 in round two. Coalson is tied for 27th place overall with four other golfers. Junior Roy Dixon is tied for 35th overall with a 2-over-par 146, as he notched scores of 2-over-par 74 and an even-par 72.
Freshman Jake McGlone continued his solid play with a 3-over-par 75 and an even-par 72 to finish in 42nd place with a 3-over-par 147. Sophomore Luke Haithcock rounded out the Spartans in the lineup as he shot a 149, including an even-par 72 in round two.
Redshirt freshman Will Thomas played as an individual and turned in a 1-over-par 145, good for a 31st-place showing. Thomas tallied a score of even-par 72 in round one before following that up with a 1-over-par 73 in round two.
Furman 12th at AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic
DULUTH, Ga. – Sophomore Preston Heyward (+1) fired a 75 in Monday’s morning round and a 70 in the afternoon to pace Furman in the opening day of the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic at the par-72, 6,706-yard Berkeley Hills Country Club.
Heyward, who is tied for 31st entering Tuesday’s final round, registered one birdie in the opening round then carded a birdie on 1 and consecutive birdies on 15 & 16 in the afternoon round to finish the day eight strokes behind leader Chase Koepka (-7) of South Florida, who is ranked 21st nationally.
Junior Michael Borton (+4) opened the day with four birdies for a 76 in the morning round then shot an even 72 with three birdies in the afternoon to tie for 46th with sophomore Preston Cole (+4), who carded a 77 in the morning round then fired a 71 with four birdies in the afternoon.
Sophomore Wehman Hopke (+5) registered seven birdies on the day, shooting a 75 in the opening round and a 74 in the afternoon to tie for 58th, while freshman Bryce Howell (+20) enters the tournament’s final round in 84th place after notching an 81 and 83 in Monday’s rounds.
South Alabama (-13) leads 24th-ranked South Florida (-12) by one shot heading into Tuesday’s final round. Georgia State (-11) is third, followed by Chattanooga (-1) and Mississippi (-4).
The Paladins (+14), who rank 12th entering the tournament’s final round, will tee off of No. 10 Tuesday at 10 a.m.