Kristjansson, ETSU continue to lead Seminole Intercollegiate
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The ETSU men’s golf team remains ahead of the pack as the 41st-ranked Buccaneers carded an even-par 288 and hold a two-shot lead following second-round play at the Seminole Intercollegiate on Saturday afternoon at Southwood Golf Course.
A day after tying an ETSU single-round record with his 63, junior Gudmundur Kristjansson continued his stellar play as he registered a bogey-free round en route to posting a 5-under 67, tying the lowest score of the day. Kristjansson, who birdied three of his first five holes and picked up two more on the back nine, takes a seven-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at 14-under-par 130. Following 36 holes of play, Kristjansson leads the field with 13 birdies and is one of 13 golfers with an eagle on the weekend.
South Carolina’s Will Starke – the 11th-ranked player via Golfstat – is in second-place at 7-under-par 137.
Meanwhile, junior Adrian Meronk also totaled a 5-under 67 and moved into a tie for third at 6-under-par 138. Meronk birdied his first hole of the morning and enjoyed a run on Nos. 6, 7 and 8 in which he book-ended birdies around an eagle.
South Carolina closed the gap on the Bucs as the eighth-ranked Gamecocks shot a 7-under 281 and sit two strokes back at 10-under-par 566. No. 4 Georgia Tech is in third at 9-under-par 567, while No. 23 Virginia and No. 43 Louisville are four shots back in fourth.
As a team, the Blue and Gold – who are 12-under-par 564 after two rounds – have recorded 36 birdies and are one of five teams with two eagles for the tournament.
With Kristjansson and Meronk sitting in the top three, junior Mateusz Gradecki is tied for 55th and senior Tom Heggarty is tied for 62nd. Both Gradecki and Heggarty shot a 1-under 71 on Friday.
The Bucs will be the last group to go out on Sunday as ETSU tees off at 9:40 a.m.
Mercer slips to sixth at Seminole Intercollegiate
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Mercer sophomore Sean Smothers carded a season-best 3-under-par 69 to lead the men’s golf team to a 1-under 287 in the second round of the Seminole Intercollegiate on Saturday.
Despite the impressive showing, Mercer slid to sixth in the team standings with an overall score of 569 after two rounds of play. The Bears head into Sunday’s closing round just five shots out of first place and three strokes behind No. 8 South Carolina for second place. Mercer leads No. 2 Florida State by three strokes and No. 9 South Florida by seven shots after Saturday’s second round.
Smothers moved into a tie for 10th place with Saturday’s effort, joining teammate Trey Rule with an overall score of 140. The Pompano Beach Fla., native shot a 1-under 35 on the front nine before closing the day with three birdies en route to a 2-under performance on his final nine holes of play.
Jerry Ren shot an even-par 72 to finish second for the Bears, as the freshman climbed to 43rd overall with a total tally of 146. Rule, who opened the day in second place overall after Friday’s season-best 5-under 67, finished with a 1-over 73, pushing his tournament totals to five birdies and one eagle.
Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. carded Mercer’s final score of the day with a 1-over 73, while Emmanuel Kountakis’ 2-over 74 placed him in a tie for 27th with a two-round total of 144.
The Bears wrap up the tournament Sunday starting at 8:50 a.m., joining Louisville and No. 23 Virginia in the event’s second pairing.