Weathers second, Chattanooga third at Bridgestone Golf Collegiate
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chattanooga’s Andrew Weathers shot 5-under-par over his 36 holes Saturday with rounds of 71 and 68 for his 139 total at the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate. He recorded seven birdies and 27 pars with just two bogeys.
The Scenic City five opened the morning round with a 10-over par 298 before coming back with a 2-under 286. That 12-shot swing pushed the Mocs into a tie for third with Memphis.
A big jump was made by sophomore Kory Webb. He had the drop score with an 80 in the morning 18. He carded level-par 72 for his second round.
Weathers’ 5-under 139 is tied for second overall. He is four behind Virginia Tech All-American Scott Vincent. Vincent shot 66, 69 for his 9-under 135. Weathers is tied with No. 21 North Carolina’s Ben Griffin and William Register.
Liam Johnston is tied for 16th, second on the Mocs squad, at 2-over. He joined Weathers (68) and Webb (72) in shooting par or better rounds for their second cards. Ewan Scott completed the 286 with a 74. Wes Gosselin had the drop score of 76 after turning in a 74 in round one.
The Tar Heels opened with a 288 before shooting the round of the day with an 8-under 280. Their 8-under day leads Vincent and his Hokies (571) by three. The Mocs and Memphis are third at 584, one clear of Mercer (585) in fifth.
Sunday’s final round is an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start. Chattanooga starts on holes 4-7, playing with the Bears and Georgia State.
Mercer fifth at Bridestone Golf Collegiate
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Senior Trey Rule had his best two-round performance of the 2014 fall season, leading the Mercer University men's golf team into fifth place on the opening day of the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate at Grandover Resort.
The Bears, who were in third place after their first round, began the day with a score of 293 before posting a 292 in the closing session to head into Sunday's final round in fifth. North Carolina and Virginia Tech compiled the top two scores of the day, while Mercer remains one stroke behind Memphis and Chattanooga for third place.
Rule opened the tournament with a round of 72 before carding a team-best 69 in the final 18 holes of the afternoon to end Saturday in fifth place with a 141. Emmanuel Kountakis finished just three strokes behind Rule, wrapping up the day in ninth place after scores of 74 and 70.
Sean Smothers fired a 72 in the opening round and a 79 in the afternoon to place 42nd with a 151, while Jerry Ren's totals of 75 and 77 put him one stroke behind in 53rd to round out the scoring for Mercer. Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. finished in 63rd with a total score of 154.
The Bears will open up the final round with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
UNCG 10th at Bridgestone Golf Collegiate
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The 44th-ranked UNCG men’s golf team hosted the first 36 holes of the prestigious Bridgestone Golf Collegiate on a perfect Saturday at the Grandover Resort East Course in Greensboro, welcoming in a field of 13 teams and 75 total players.
The third and final round of the Bridgestone will be held Sunday with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start with live scoring available via www.golfstatresults.com.
Sophomore Carter Jenkins led the Spartans in the first two rounds as he sits in ninth place overall, while freshman Josh Stockwell is in 13th place playing as an individual. Their play helped the Spartans place 10th as a team with a 18-over-par 594 as UNCG opened with a tough first round of 306 before righting the ship in round two with an even-par 288.
No. 21 North Carolina leads the team standings with an 8-under-par 568 (288-280), while No. 33 Virginia Tech is only three strokes behind at 5-under-par 571 (286-285). The Tar Heels and Hokies are the only two teams under par after the first two rounds. Scott Vincent of Virginia Tech holds a four-stroke lead at 9-under-par 135 after posting rounds of 66 and 69 Saturday. Andrew Weathers of Chattanooga (71-68), Ben Griffin of North Carolina (71-68) and William Register of North Carolina (74-65) are tied for second at 5-under par 139.
Jenkins is even after 36 holes after recording scores of 2-over-par 74 in round one and 2-under-par 70 in round two. He posted four birdies, two bogeys and one double bogey on the day to go along with 29 par scores. Stockwell, playing as an individual, is just 1-over-par 145 after 36-holes with a 2-under-par 70 in round one and a 3-over-par 75 Saturday. His first round score of 70 is a career-low for the freshman, surpassing his previous low of 71 set in his first collegiate round at the Tar Heel Invitational.
Sophomore Jake McGlone is the third Spartan in the standings, sitting in a tie for 24th place. McGlone posted a 4-over-par 148 Saturday with a 4-over-par 76 in round one and following that up with an even-par 72 in round two. His second round score included four birdies to go along with four bogeys and 10 pars.
Redshirt sophomore William Thomas is in 42nd place as an individual with a 7-over-par 151. Thomas opened with a 1-over-par 73 in round one before posting a 6-over-par 78 in round two. Senior Alex Ehlert returned to the Spartans’ lineup for the second time this season and carded a 7-over par 151 (76-75) to sit in a tie for 42nd place as well.
Senior Roy Dixon is in 53rd place overall with an 8-over-par 152 as he had two markedly different rounds Saturday. Dixon opened with a 9-over-par 81 in round one but regrouped with a 1-under-par 71 in round two.
Juniors Luke Haithcock and Taylor Coalson round out the seven Spartans playing in the home tournament. Haithcock playing as an individual and posted a score of 153 (76-77), while Coalson carded a 156 in two rounds (80-76).