Kristjansson, ETSU leads Greenbrier Collegiate
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – The ETSU men’s golf team sits atop the leaderboard, while junior Gudmundur Kristjansson is tied for first place following the first two rounds of The Greenbrier Collegiate Invitational, which concluded Monday evening The Old White TPC Course.
The 39th-ranked Buccaneers hold a one-shot lead over Eastern Kentucky entering Tuesday’s final round as ETSU finished the day at 6-over-par 566. ETSU opened the round with an even-par 280 and totaled a 6-over 286 in the second round to maintain its one-stroke lead. Marshall and Old Dominion are tied for third at 11-over-par 571.
The Blue and Gold hold their lead courtesy of the strong play by Kristjansson, Adrian Meronk and Mateusz Gradecki as they all sit in the top 20.
Kristjansson, who carded eight birdies on the day, is tied for the individual lead at 3-under-par 137. The Reykjavik, Iceland, native started the morning with a 2-under 68 and finished the day with a 1-under 69. Kristjansson is tied with Elon’s Jonathan Dilanni and EKU’s Jared Brown, while James Madison’s Poom Pattaropong is one shot back at 2-under.
Meanwhile, Meronk – the 18th-ranked golfer by Golfstat – is only two shots back in fifth place at 1-under-par 139 and Gradecki is tied for 17th at 4-over-par 144.
Meronk had four of his six birdies in the opening round en route to posting a 1-under 69, but despite sitting 2-under through his first seven holes in round two, the Buccaneer junior couldn’t sustain the early momentum. Meronk double-bogeyed the par-3 No. 8 and moved to 1-over for the round after recording a bogey on the par-5 12th. However, he birdied the par-5 17th to get back to even for the round. Meronk also registered his seventh eagle of the season in the second round after carding a 2 on the par-4 No 4.
Gradecki shot an even-par 70 in the first 18 holes of competition and was even through the first 12 holes of the second round, but he played the final six holes at 4-over to finish with a 74.
Seniors Rhys Pugh and Tom Heggarty are both tied for 37th at 8-over-par 148.
Tuesday’s final round begins with a shotgun start at 9 a.m., while ETSU will be grouped with Eastern Kentucky and Marshall.
Wofford second at Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational
SPARTANURG, S.C. – The 27th Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational appears to be a two-team race between Army and the host Terriers after Monday’s opening two rounds at The Country Club of Spartanburg.
Wofford used a second-round 15-under-par 273 – one stroke shy of the tournament record – to close a seven-stroke gap the Black Knights had built in the first round. With one round to play, the Terriers will sleep in second on a 19-under-par 557. One shot in front is Army at 20-under-par.
Tied for third are Western Carolina and Presbyterian (-8), 11 shots back of the two leaders.
Barring a weather delay, Tuesday’s final 18 is scheduled to tee off at 9:30 a.m. The forecast calls for precipitation overnight and thunderstorms a possibility during the day. Wofford is attempting to win its own tournament for the first time, as it finished second in both 2006 and 2013.
Wofford’s day was highlighted by sophomore Andrew Novak, who coupled an opening-round 2-under-par 70 with a second-round 6-under-par 66. The Mount Pleasant, S.C., native also sits in second place, just a shot back of tournament leader Eric Peng (-9) of Army.
Novak’s second round was sensational and consisted of nine birdies. He strung together four in a row from 14-17 and finished the round with another at his closing par-5, 516-yard first. The 66 ties his career low, which he also posted at The Country Club of Spartanburg in last year’s tournament.
Two shots behind Novak is senior Brannan Hudson in a tie for third. He also started the day with a 2-under 70 before following with a 4-under 68. Hudson’s second round included six birdies, closing with a 3 on the par-4, 364-yard 18th. The Columbia, S.C., native is 6-under with one round to play.
Sophomore Jeremy Grab is in 27th at even-par 144 to head the rest of the Terriers. There are 14 teams and 75 individuals competing at the par-72, 6,648-yard course.
Wofford, Army and Western Carolina will play together if the weather holds up on Tuesday. A shotgun start is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
Western Carolina tied for third at Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Western Carolina senior J.T. Poston carded consecutive rounds of 3-under-par 69 on Monday to lead three Catamounts inside the individual top 15 and pace the squad to a third-place showing after 36 holes at the 27th-annual Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational. Poston is in the clubhouse amidst a three-way tie for third place, just three strokes off the pace with 18 holes remaining.
Catamount junior Tyler Lail and freshman Jackson Bishop both fired consecutive rounds of 1-under-par 71 for matching scores of 142 to sit in a six-way tie for 14th place.
The tournament’s final round is scheduled for a shotgun start on Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. However, the weather forecasts do not look promising with heavy rain and thunderstorms overnight into the morning hours. WCU will be paired with golfers from Army West Point and tournament host Wofford between the first three holes on the front nine.
Poston charted five birdies against two bogeys in both rounds on Monday for his two rounds of 69, his ninth and 10th rounds in the 60s this season.
Lail started the day with 10 consecutive pars before carding two birdies and a bogey over the next four holes to move to 1-under par with four remaining. The Conover, N.C., native finished with four pars to finish at 71.
Again starting on No. 5 in the second round, Lail fired back-to-back birdies to open at 2-under-par on the fifth and sixth holes, making the turn in the second 18 holes at 1-under after a bogey on the par-3 eighth. He remained around even-par with a birdie and bogey on the 17th and 18th, respectively. Lail concluded the first day with a birdie on the par-4 second to again shoot 71.
Jackson Bishop recorded four birdies against three bogeys in both rounds for back-to-back 71s to sit tied with Lail.
Senior Matthew Turner shot rounds of 3-over 75 and 1-under 71 for a two-round score of 156, tied for 34th, while sophomore Nont Panayanggool rounded out the Catamount side with scores of 78 and 73 for a 36-hole total of 151, tied for 58th.
Furman tied for sixth at Coca-Cola Wofford Invitational
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Junior Wehman Hopke (-3) fired an opening-round 67 and carded a 74 in the afternoon round to lead Furman on Monday in the Wofford Invitational at the par-72, 6,648-yard Country Club of Spartanburg.
Hopke, who enters Tuesday’s play tied for 10th place, birdied five holes in the morning and four in the afternoon on Monday to finish the day six strokes back of Army’s Eric Peng (-6), who recorded a 69 in the opening round and fired a 66 in the second round.
Paladin sophomore Bryce Howell (-1) and freshman Adam Garrett (-1) are tied for 20th after two rounds. Howell birdied three holes in each round to card an opening-round 69 and a second-round 71, while Garrett scored three birdies in round one then added two eagles and two birdies for a 69 in the second round.
Junior Preston Cole (+5) eagled the par-5 No. 5 in the opening round, scoring a 73, then added two birdies for a 76 in the afternoon round to tie for 52nd. Redshirt freshman Alex Taylor (+17) scored a birdie in round one and added two additional birdies in the second round to place 74th.
Army (-20) holds a one stroke lead over Wofford (-19) after carding an opening-round 277 and scoring a 279 in the afternoon. Western Carolina (-8) and Presbyterian (-8) are tied for third, while Austin Peay (-4) rounds out the top five. The Paladins (E) are tied with USC Upstate (E) for sixth following two rounds of play.
The tournament will conclude with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday.