ETSU tied for seventh at Mason Rudolph Championship
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – The ETSU men’s golf team carded a 7-over-par 291 and the 39th-ranked Buccaneers sit in the middle of the pack following the opening round of the Mason Rudolph Championship.
ETSU, which is tied for seventh with Notre Dame, was led by senior Rhys Pugh and junior Adrian Meronk on Friday at the Vanderbilt Legends Club. The Buccaneer tandem shot an even-par 71 and is tied for 17th in the 81-man field.
Pugh carded three birdies, a bogey and a double-bogey, while Meronk totaled an eagle, two birdies and four bogeys in the opening round. Pugh was 1-over through nine but birdied two of his first three holes on the back nine, moving to 1-under. Following his double-bogey on the par-3, 201-yard 16th, Pugh finished the day with his third and final birdie on 18, resulting in his 71.
Meronk was even on the front nine as he began the day with a bogey before posting a birdie on the par-3, 196-yard No. 3. From there, Meronk – the 20th-ranked golfer by Golfweek – bogeyed the first two holes on the back nine before registering his sixth eagle of the season on the par-5, 517-yard 14th. Meronk ended the round with a bogey on No. 16, and like Pugh, birdied No. 18.
Vanderbilt, the tournament host and fifth-ranked team in the country, sits atop the leaderboard at 4-under-par 280. The Commodores hold a three-shot lead over No. 11 Georgia Tech and No. 21 Kennesaw State.
Kennesaw State’s Kelby Burton fired a 4-under-par 67 and takes a one-stroke lead into Saturday’s second round. Ball State’s McCormick Clouser and Georgia Southern’s Scott Wolfes are both at 3-under 68.
Along with Pugh and Meronk, the Bucs were also led by junior Gudmundur Kristjansson and sophomore Mateusz Gradecki on Friday. Kristjansson, who is coming off his tournament win two weeks ago at the Seminole Intercollegiate, is tied for 39th at 3-over 74 and Gradecki is tied for 47th at 4-over 75. Kristjansson was 1-over through 12 but picked up a triple-bogey on the par-3, 184-yard 13th; however, he managed to birdie two of his final four holes to end the round.
The Bucs will be paired with Notre Dame and Liberty in round two and tee off from No. 1 at 9 a.m. (ET) on Saturday.
Mercer 13th at Mason Rudolph Championship
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Mercer University sophomore Emmanuel Kountakis shot an even-par 71 to lead the men's golf team in the opening round of Vanderbilt's Mason Rudolph Championship on Friday morning at the Vanderbilt Legends Club.
The Bears finished the day in 13th place after firing a 16-over 300 against a field that contains eight programs ranked among the top 50 in the nation by GolfStat.com.
Kountakis was tied for second place on the strength of four birdies through his first 15 holes but would bogey on two of his final three holes to close out the day tied for 17th on the individual leaderboard. The Augusta, Ga., native has now carded a score of even-par or better in five straight rounds after topping eight individuals ranked inside Golfstat.com's top-100 on Friday.
Trey Rule and Sean Smothers each finished with 3-over 74s, combining for four birdies on Friday. Jerry Ren rounded out the scoring with an 81, while Jeffrey Heinicka Jr. notched an 84.