ETSU finishes fifth at Jack Nicklaus Invitational
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The ETSU men’s golf team was unable to make it back-to-back wins as the Bucs finished fifth at the Jack Nicklaus Invitational on Monday from the Ohio State University Golf Club – Scarlet Course.
Coming off its win in the season-opener last week at the Inverness Intercollegiate, ETSU couldn’t make a move in the round in Columbus as the Bucs shot a 9-over-par 293 and finished with a three-round score of 23-over-par 875 (294-299-293).
Junior Adrian Meronk led the Blue and Gold for the second straight week as the Buccaneer tied for sixth at 2-over-par 215 (68-74-73). Meronk parred his first nine holes on Monday but carded a double-bogey on the par-4 No. 10 before moving back to par following back-to-back birdies on No. 11 and 12. However, Meronk was unable to build momentum after that as he bogeyed two of his last five holes, resulting in his 73. Overall, Meronk was one of three players to post an eagle in the tournament, as he posted a 3 on the par-5, No. 4 in Sunday’s opening round.
Ohio State led wire-to-wire and claimed its first-ever title in the five-year running of the tournament. The 28th-ranked Buckeyes entered the day with a six-shot lead over Purdue and an eight-stroke advantage over ETSU and ended the tournament with a 12-shot win over the 45th-ranked Boilermakers. Ohio State finished at 7-over-par 859 (283-291-285).
Kansas State’s Matt Green held on to win the individual title, as he outlasted Kent State’s Chase Johnson by two strokes. Green ended the 54-hole tournament at 3-under-par 210 (67-73-70).
Senior Rhys Pugh joined Meronk in the top 15 as the Buccaneer veteran tied for 14th at 5-over-par 218 (75-70-73). Meanwhile, sophomore Mateusz Gradecki shot a 4-over 75 on Monday and tied for 22nd at 8-over 221 (75-71-75). Junior Gudmundur Kristjansson – who totaled four of his nine birdies in the final round – tied for 28th at 9-over-par 222 (77-73-72).
The Bucs are back in action next week as ETSU looks to defend its title at the Wolfpack Intercollegiate, which begins Monday, Oct. 6, in Raleigh, N.C.
Western Carolina 14th at Cardinal Invitational
SIMPSONVILLE, Ky. – Western Carolina carded rounds of 311 and 298 on Monday to stand 14th overall with 18 holes remaining at the Cardinal Invitational being held at the University of Louisville Golf Club. WCU advanced one spot after the opening round, trimming 13 strokes of its collective second round.
Tuesday's final round gets underway with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. Live scoring is available online through GolfStatResults.com.
Catamount freshman Bright Julamool leads WCU's scoring five with a 5-over-par round of 77 on the opening 18 holes followed by a 1-under round of 71. He stands tied for 26th overall at 4-over-par 148. The Bangkok, Thailand, native carded eight birdies over the first two rounds.
The defending event champion, WCU senior J.T. Poston, is one stroke back in a tie for 30th overall. The Hickory, N.C., product opened with a first-round, 2-under-par 70 to sit in a tie for third place. However, he struggled through the second round with 7-over-par 79 for a two-round total of 149. Poston has five birdies, four coming in the first round.
Freshman Jackson Bishop carded a career-low round of 2-under-par 70 to pace WCU in the second round. Coupled with his opening round of 83, he stands tied for 58th overall at 153. Rounding out WCU's scoring five are senior Braydon Obremski in a tie for 74th at 159 (81-78) and junior Tyler Lail in 84th at 168 (87-81).
Louisiana-Monroe leads the 16-team field by a stroke over tournament host Louisville, firing an opening-round 580 while the Cardinals shot 581. Austin Peay State is third, two strokes off the lead at 582 with first-round leader Eastern Kentucky fourth at 585 and UT-Martin rounding out the top five at 586.
With matching scores of 4-under-par 140, Patric Sundlof of Eastern Kentucky and DePaul's Jan Juelicher share the individual lead through 36 holes as eight golfers were under par through the first two rounds.