Western Carolina fifth at Gary Koch Invite
GASTONIA, N.C. – Western Carolina carded rounds of 294 and 296 to sit in fifth place after 36 of the scheduled 54 holes at the Gary Koch Invitational being played at the par-72, 7,042-yard Gaston Country Club. Junior Tyler Lail paced the Catamounts on the opening day, sitting in a three-way tie for 11th after rounds of even-par 72 and 1-under-par 71.
The third and final round is scheduled for tee times beginning at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. Due to technical issues, live scoring was not available for the opening 36 holes and will not be available for the final round.
WCU senior J.T. Poston, ranked 35th in the country in the most recent Golfstat rankings, is in the clubhouse tied with three others for 14th at even par after firing rounds of 1-over-par 73 and 1-under-par 71 for 144.
All told, only 13 golfers are below par after the first two rounds.
Freshman Jackson Bishop fired rounds of 4-over 76 and 2-over 74 to sit among a tie 38th at 6-over-par 150, with senior Matthew Turner in a tie for 55th overall, three strokes back at 153 (73-80). Rounding out WCU's scoring five is freshman Bright Julamool in 81st overall with rounds of 82 and 88 for a two-round score of 170.
Top-ranked Florida State leads the field by nine strokes over runner-up, No. 13 Auburn. The Seminoles, with three golfers inside the individual top 13, carded rounds of 276 and 285 for a 36-hole score of 561 to lead the Tigers (289-281=570). Kentucky (290-282=572) sits in third, while Charlotte is fourth at 574 with WCU rounding out the top five at 590.
UNCG tied for ninth at Old Waverly Collegiate
WEST POINT, Miss. – The UNCG senior men’s golfer Roy Dixon sits in fifth place overall and was having his best round of the season before play was suspended in the second round of the Old Waverly Collegiate hosted by Mississippi State at the par-72 7,088-yard Old Waverly Golf Club.
Play was suspended due to darkness and lightning in the area as the day was delayed over an hour at the start due to inclement weather in the area. All scores to this point are unofficial as they are based off live scoring and no official score cards have been turned in for the second round.
The teams will continue round two Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (CT) and immediately proceed to round three, weather permitting. Live scoring is available via www.birdiefire.com.
Dixon is 4-under through 28 holes of the 54-hole event to sit in fifth place in a five-way tie. He opened with a 1-over-par 73 in round one but was coming on strong in round two, where he was 5-under through the first 10 holes of the second round. He has posted five birdies and five par scores in the second round and he is just three shots off the overall lead held by Tyler Klava of South Alabama at 7-under through 30 holes.
The Spartans as a team are tied for ninth place overall as UNCG has played between 6-11 holes in round two as a team. UNCG opened with an 11-over-par 299 in round one and is 2-under-par so far through round two. The Spartans are four shots out of sixth place, while Ole Miss holds the overall lead at 7-under through 9-11 holes in round two.
The field at the Old Waverly includes nine teams ranked in the top 100 in the latest Golf Stat rankings and all but one team ranked in the top 150. Joining the No. 68 Spartans in the field are No. 32 UAB, No. 37 Florida, No. 43 Troy, No. 52 Southeastern Louisiana, No. 55 Ole Miss, No. 73 Kansas, No. 74 Chattanooga, No. 81 Memphis, No. 88 South Alabama, Louisiana, Louisiana Tech, Southern Mississippi, Cincinnati and host Mississippi State.
Sophomore Jake McGlone sits in 25th place overall at 1-over-par through 29 holes on the day. McGlone opened with a 2-over-par 74 in round one but is 1-under-par through 11 holes in round two. He has eight pars, two birdies and one bogey in the second round.
Freshman Josh Stockwell is in 55th place overall at 6-over-par through 24 holes. He posted a 5-over-par 77 in round one and is 1-over-par through six holes in round two. Junior Taylor Coalson and classmate Luke Haithcock are tied for 61st overall through 28 holes. Both posted 4-over-par 76 scores in round one and are both 3-over-par in round two through the first 10 holes.
Chattanooga tied for ninth at Old Waverly Collegiate
WEST POINT, Miss. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team did not get through the full 36 holes Monday at the Old Waverly Collegiate. Inclement weather limited the field to 27-29 holes. The suspended second round begins at 9:30 a.m., Eastern time, followed by the final 18.
The Mocs are tied for ninth with UNCG and Troy at 9-over-par. The trio trails eighth-place Southeastern Louisiana by one. Ole Miss leads the tourney at 7-under, followed by UAB in second at 4-under.
Chattanooga opened with 5-over-par 293. Liam Johnston shot 2-under with Ewan Scott a shot back with a 71 to lead the effort. Wes Gosselin and Kory Webb carded 75 and 77, respectively, to round out the 293. Andrew Weathers turned in the drop score with a 79.
The Mocs are 4-over through 9-11 holes in the second 18. Scott is 2-under through 11 holes and is in 10th at 3-under for the day. Johnston (+2) dropped two shots back to even to stand tied for 20th. Weathers is 1-over for his second round with Webb (+3) and Gosselin (+4) behind.