ETSU second at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – The 31st-ranked ETSU men’s golf team has three players in the top 10 and the Buccaneers are in second place following the conclusion of day two of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the Blackthorn Club on Saturday.
The Bucs, who finished first-round play earlier Saturday morning, completed second-round play despite sitting through a two-hour weather delay that began at 3:15 p.m. Six teams were still on the course when second-round play was suspended due to darkness on Saturday night and those teams will finish their rounds beginning Sunday at 9 a.m.
Overall, ETSU enters Sunday’s round with a team score of 13-under-par 563 (281-282) and sit five shots back of team leader and No. 12 Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons are at 18-under-par 558 (280-278). The Bucs have never won the team tournament in the previous 16 years of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate as ETSU’s top finishes came in 2006 and 2008, when the Blue and Gold came in second.
The Bucs were within one shot of Wake Forest late, but the par-4 17th gave ETSU troubles down the stretch. Adrian Meronk and Rhys Pugh both carded a double-bogey and Mateusz Gradecki walked away with a bogey on the second-to-last hole.
Despite his double-bogey on No. 17, Meronk still sits in third place at 6-under-par 138 (70-68) and is four shots off the lead. The Buccaneer junior recorded a pair of eagles and four birdies in the second round. Meronk’s first eagle came on the par-5 4th and moved to 6-under for the round following the eagle on the par-5 14th. Following the pair of eagles, the Bucs have now registered four on the weekend.
Junior Chris Hickman enjoyed a strong finish as he played the final six holes at 2-under and is tied for fourth at 5-under-par 139 (69-70), while Pugh is tied for eighth at 3-under-par 141 (70-71). Gradecki is tied for 34th at 1-over-par 145 (72-73).
Wake Forest’s Will Zalatoris is the individual leader at 10-under-par 134 and has a two-stroke advantage over Virginia’s Denny McCarthy.
Senior Tom Heggarty, who is competing as an individual, finished the day at 2-under and is tied for 12th. Heggarty carded a 1-over 73 in the opening round and is 3-under-par through 12 holes in round two. Heggarty’s score does not count in ETSU’s team scoring.
The Bucs begin play at 9:40 a.m. on Sunday as junior Gudmundur Kristjansson will be the first ETSU golfer on the course. Kristjansson is tied for 74th. ETSU will be paired with Virginia and Wake Forest.
Furman 10th at Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – The Furman men's golf team carded an 282 Saturday in the second round of the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate at the par-72, 7,147-yard Blackthorn Club, the best round for the Paladin team since 2010, when Furman fired a 279 and a 280 in the Southern Conference Championship.
The Paladins (+3) are in 10th place in the team standings, moving up three spots from Friday's 13th-place finish. Wake Forest (-18) leads the field, five strokes ahead of ETSU (-13), and 11 strokes ahead of third-place Penn State (-7). Memphis (-3) and Virginia Tech (-2) round out the top five.
Paladin junior Wehman Hopke (E) carded three birdies on the front nine to shoot an even 72 for the second consecutive day and tie for 25th place, 10 shots back of Will Zalatoris (-10) of Wake Forest, who leads the tournament with a two-day total of 134.
Freshman Hunter Nichols (+2) and sophomore Bryce Howell (+2) are tied for 36th place heading into Sunday's final round. Hunter fired a 69 with a team-best five birdies, including consecutive birdies on No. 2 and No. 3, to lead the Paladins on Saturday, while sophomore Bryce Howell (+2) birdied No. 2 and No. 4 then eagled the par-5 No. 10 for a 71 in the tournament's round.
Junior Preston Cole (+3) carded four birdies on the back nine to shoot a 70 Saturday, tying for 42nd following two rounds of competition, while junior Preston Heyward (+4) carded two birdies on the front and two more on the back to finish Saturday's round three over par and tied for 52nd place.
The tournament will conclude on Sunday beginning at 8 a.m.