ETSU leads Inverness Intercollegiate
TOLEDO, Ohio – Playing in its first tournament of the season, the ETSU men’s golf team got off to a strong start as the Bucs had four golfers finish in the top 13, and the Blue and Gold are tied for first following the first two rounds of the Inverness Intercollegiate on Monday.
Junior Adrian Meronk led the Bucs as he sits in fourth place entering Tuesday’s final round at 1-over-par 143 (73-70). Meronk totaled a pair of birdies in the opening round and followed that up with four birdies in the second round, including three straight on Nos. 16, 17 and 18 to move up the leaderboard.
Meanwhile, senior Rhys Pugh, who was atop the leaderboard for the majority of the first two rounds, finished the day in a three-way tie for fifth at 2-over-par 144 (67-77). Pugh finished the first round at 4-under after recording an eagle, six birdies and four bogeys; however, the Welshman only tallied one birdie in round two en route to carding his 6-over 77.
The Bucs are tied with South Florida – which finished 33rd in the final Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings last season – at 11-over-par 579 (285-294). ETSU had an eight-shot lead after carding a 1-over 285 in the first round, but the Bucs came back to the field and USF pulled even with the Blue and Gold following the second round. The Bulls finished at 2-over 286 in round two, while ETSU ended at 10-over 294. Both the Bucs and USF have a 12-stroke cushion over Yale and UAB, who are tied for third at 23-over-par 591.
Mernok enters the final round one shot off the lead as there’s a three-way tie at even-par 142. Kent State’s Chase Johnson and Sebastian Bendsen, along with USF’s Claudio Correa Black, all hold a share the individual lead.
Juniors Chris Hickman and Gudmundur Kristjansson are tied for 13th at 5-over-par 147. The Buccaneer upperclassmen flipped scores in the two rounds as Hickman posted an even-par 71 in the opener and followed that up with a 5-over 76 in round two. Kristjansson, who was 3-under after his first three holes in round one, went 76-71.
The tournament field features eight teams that finished in the top 70 of the final Golfweek/Sagarin Rankings of the 2013-14 season.
ETSU tees off at 8:50 a.m. on Tuesday, and will be paired with Michigan State and UAB in the final round.
The Inverness Club was founded in 1903, and along with the University of Toledo, served as host for the 2009 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. Inverness has also hosted four U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two PGA Championships and one U.S. Amateur.
Mercer sixth at Inverness Intercollegiate
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Mercer men's golf team wrapped up the first 36 holes of the Inverness Intercollegiate in a tie for sixth place, posting scores of 303 and 294 at the renowned Inverness Club on Monday.
The championship course created problems for all 12 teams, as each program failed to finish a round with a score of par or lower on the opening day. ETSU and South Florida pulled away from the pack with 11-over 579s on Monday. The Bears will begin Tuesday's final round six strokes behind UAB and Yale for third place.
Senior Trey Rule finished three shots out of the lead to pace Mercer on the opening day of action. Rule carded a 73 on his first 18 holes, before using five birdies in his final round en route to a score of 145.
Sophomore Sean Smothers posted a team-best 72 in the opening round and close the day with a 75 to head into the final day in 13th place. Fellow sophomore Emmanuel Kountakis caught fire on his final 18 holes, finishing with a 2-under 69 to place 20th and overcome an first-round score of 79.
Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. registered scores of 83 and 78 to end the day in 54th place, while Jerry Ren finished in 58th place with a two-round score of 163.
Mercer will resume play Tuesday, as the final round kicks off with an 8 a.m. shotgun start.
UNCG seventh at VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – UNCG sophomore men’s golfer Jake McGlone continued his strong career play at the Hermitage Country Club Manakin Course on Monday as he sits in seventh place overall after 36 holes to lead the Spartans at the 10th annual Janney VCU Shootout.
The third and final round will be played Tuesday with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start from holes No. 11-14.
McGlone, who finished ninth overall last season at the VCU Shootout, sits in seventh place after the first two rounds with a 1-over-par 145. He opened the afternoon with a 1-over-par 73 before following up with an even-par 72. He carded five birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey to go along with 26 par scores. Last year, he finished the 54-hole event 1-under-par 215 (72-75-68).
The Spartans sit alone in seventh place overall as a team with a 19-over-par 595 scores (299-296). Virginia Tech leads the event with a 3-over-par 579 (287-292) and UNCG is only six strokes out of third place heading into the final round. Nick Voke of Iowa State holds the individual lead at 2-under-par 142 (74-68), while Conner Hayden of Radford is 1-under-par 143 (69-74) as the only two golfers under par through 36 holes.
Junior Taylor Coalson continued his steady play through the first two weeks of the season, sitting in a tie for 16th place overall. Coalson posted a 3-over-par 147 Monday with a 2-over-par 74 in round one and a 1-over-par 73 in round two as he tallied five birdies, six bogeys, a double bogey and 24 par scores.
Sophomore Carter Jenkins had an up-and-down first day at the tournament. Jenkins sits in a tie for 35th place overall with an 8-over-par 152. He opened with a 7-over-par 79 in round one before rallying for a 1-over-par 73 in round two as he carded five birdies in the second round.
Senior Roy Dixon is tied for 46th place with a 10-over-par 154 (75-79), while freshman Josh Stockwell carded an 11-over-par 155 (77-78). Junior Luke Haithcock also turned in an 11-over-par 155 playing as an individual but he responded from an 11-over-par 83 in round one for an even-par 72 in round two.
Joining the Spartans in the field includes host VCU, George Mason, Francis Marion, Iowa State, Maryland, Old Dominion, Richmond, Virginia Tech, Radford, James Madison Wichita State and Xavier.