Furman fourth at Rees Jones Invitational
DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. – Senior Preston Cole (-1) carded a second-round 73 on Monday to enter the final round of play tied for fourth at the Rees Jones Invitational at the par-72, 7,380-yard Haig Point, a Jones Signature Course. The Paladins (+20) are in fourth place after two rounds.
Cole eagled the par-5 No. 14 and recorded three birdies to finish the second round one stroke back of Gabriel Lench (-2) of Liberty, Charlotte’s Nicolas Manifacier (-2), and Thomas LaMorte of Campbell (-2), who are all tied for the individual lead with a two-round total of 142.
Paladin junior Bryce Howell (+7) birdied No. 9 and No. 18 on Monday and enters the final round tied for 23rd. Freshman Connor Bruns (+8) and senior Wehman Hopke (+8), who notched birdies on No. 2 and No. 18, are tied for 27th after each scored a 77 in the second round. Senior Preston Heyward (+11) tallied a team-high four birdies on Monday, including back-to-back birdies on No. 6 and No. 7, to card a 76 and tie for 36th, while sophomore Hunter Nichols (+15), who is playing as an individual, is tied for 44th.
Liberty (+5) leads the field after firing a 2-under 286 on Monday, followed by 47th-ranked Charlotte just two strokes back. Campbell is in third, followed by Furman, while No. 26 Kennesaw State (+21) rounds out the top five.
The 54-hole tournament will conclude on Tuesday. The Paladins will tee off of No. 1 beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Western Carolina ninth at Rees Jones Invitational
DAUFUSKIE ISLAND, S.C. – Western Carolina senior Tyler Lail fired a 1-over-par 73 on Monday to stand sixth overall after 36 holes at the Rees Jones Invitational. Posting a team score of 306, the Catamounts slipped into ninth place at the season-opening tournament being held on the Jones Signature Course at The Haig Point Club.
Tuesday’s final round is scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. with tee times. Paired with golfers from Coastal Carolina and Winthrop, WCU’s scoring five is slated to hit the course on the back nine beginning at 9:10 a.m.
Opening on the back nine Monday, Lail was even-par through his first three holes before three straight bogeys left him at 3-over for the day with 12 holes to play. The Conover, N.C., native closed the back nine strong with back-to-back birdies followed by a third consecutive birdie on the first hole of the front nine to move back to even par for the day. Lail countered a double-bogey on the par-4 No. 3 with his fourth birdie of the second round to shoot 73 for a two-day score of 144.
True freshman Mark David Johnson shot 7-over 79 to slip into a tie for 27th, where he was joined by sophomore Jackson Bishop, who was four strokes better in the second round with a 2-over 74.
Rounding out WCU’s scoring five were freshman Lawson King, who carded a second consecutive round of 81 to sit tied for 49th at 162, and senior Taylor Durand who was nine strokes better on Monday to stand 54th overall at 169 (89-80).
ETSU second at Inverness Intercollegiate
TOLEDO, Ohio – The ETSU men’s golf team put itself in contention to win a second straight title at the Inverness Intercollegiate as the Buccaneers sit in second place following Monday’s first two rounds at the Inverness Golf Club.
The Bucs, who were tied for first after day one a year ago, held off then-No. 1 South Florida to earn the championship by two strokes. Should the Blue and Gold become the first team to post back-to-back wins at Inverness – a course that has served host for the 2009 NCAA Men’s Golf Championships, four U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens, two PGA Championships and one U.S. Amateur – ETSU will have to overcome a two-stroke deficit over team-leading California.
As a team, the Bucs held the outright lead late in the day on Monday but sit in second place at 18-over-par 586 (293-293), while Cal – the 19th-ranked team in Golfweek’s preseason standings – finished at 16-over-par 584 (291-293). Overall, ETSU recorded 119 pars in the first two rounds, which topped all teams in the field, while the Bucs and Cal led the 15 teams in par-4 scoring at 4.19.
The trio of Mateusz Gradecki, Gudmundur Kristjansson and Chris Hickman helped keep ETSU near the top of the leaderboard on Monday as they all sit in the top 11.
Gradecki, who paced the Blue and Gold on day one, is tied for third at 2-over-par 144 (71-73). Meanwhile, Kristjansson is right behind his teammate as the Icelander is tied for sixth at 3-over-par 145 (73-72). Hickman also gave the Blue and Gold a lift in the afternoon as he shot a 1-over 72 to move into a tie for 11th at 5-over-par 147. Following a 4-over 75 in the opening round, Hickman was tied for 20th, but he jumped nine spots up the leaderboard by using a strong finish in round two.
Individually, California’s KK Limbhasut holds a two-stroke lead after the first two rounds as he finished 2-under-par 140 (70-70) on Monday.
The Blue and Gold tee off Tuesday at 8:50 a.m. and will be paired with California and Purdue.
Mercer seventh at Inverness
TOLEDO, Ohio – The Mercer University men’s golf team wrapped up the opening day of the Inverness Intercollegiate in seventh place after posting a score of 32-over-par 600 through the first 36 holes of golf at the prestigious Inverness Club.
Mercer carded scores of 299 and 301 in Monday’s two rounds. The Bears head into Tuesday’s final 18 holes just three strokes away from another top-five finish. California leads the field with a 16-over 584, while ETSU (586) and Purdue (588) round out the top three.
Dylan Deogun, a freshman who recorded a top-10 finish at the season-opening Golfweek Program Challenge, continued his impressive start to the season, carding rounds of 73 and 74 for a two-round tally of 5-over 147. Deogun will head into the final round just three strokes out of third place, thanks to an opening day that featured six birdies.
Deogun and Sean Smothers both head into the final round within striking distance of a second straight top-10 finish. Emmanuel Kountakis and Trey Rule were the last players to achieve the feat for the Bears, after each recorded back-to-back top-10 finishes last season.
Wofford third at Fighting Irish Golf Classic
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Wofford men’s golf team got its fall season underway in impressive fashion on Monday at the Notre Dame Gridiron Classic, carding rounds of 4-over-par 288 and 1-under-par 283 to sit in third place, just two shots back of leader and host Notre Dame. The tournament is being held at UND’s Warren Golf Course, playing at par-71, 7,023 yards.
The Terriers were led by Andrew Novak, who began his junior campaign with rounds of even-par 71 and 1-under 70. Novak had 10 birdies on the day, including six in his second round, and is tied for eighth place (-1), just two shots back of the leaders (-3).
In all, 12 teams and 69 individuals are playing in the two-day, three-round tournament. Notre Dame (+1) leads by one stroke over St. Mary’s College (+2), followed by the Terriers in third (+3), DePaul in fourth (+7) and a two-way tie for fifth between Loyola-Maryland and Utah State (+8). Other teams competing include Xavier, Wisconsin and Dartmouth.
Junior Jeremy Grab also had a good start to the season. After an opening-round 3-over-par 74, Grab rebounded to card a 1-under-par 70. His 1-under round included five birdies, a bogey and an unfortunate triple-bogey on the par-four 18th. He is inside the top 20 in 19th at 2-over-par.
Other Terriers competing in the tournament include senior Grant Waggoner (+4), junior Cam Andrade (+5) and sophomore Evan Grenus (+7).
Wofford will look to capture the Gridiron Golf Classic championship in Tuesday’s final round, which begins at 8:30 a.m., Central time. Tournament leaders Notre Dame, St. Mary’s and Wofford tee off beginning at 9:50 a.m.
Chattanooga tied for fourth at Janney VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – The Chattanooga Mocs men’s golf team is tied for fourth with Iowa State at the Janney VCU Shootout played on the Country Club of Virginia’s Tuckahoe Creek Course. The squad opened with a 5-under-par 283 before closing with 297.
The 4-over 580 total is 13 off the pace set by James Madison in first (-9). Host VCU and East Carolina are tied for second at even. UTC and ISU are three ahead of UNCG in sixth, four in front of Virginia Tech in seventh.
The star of the show was sophomore Stuart Thomas. Thomas carded back-to-back 70s for a 4-under 140. He’s in third behind Maryland's Tom Harris (-9) and JMU’s Ryan Cole (-5).
Brooks Thomas got the Mocs going in the morning round with a 3-under 69. Stuart Thomas and Andrew Weathers each turned in 70s, while Wes Gosselin posted a 74 (+2).
Stuart Thomas followed with another 70, but that was five better than the next-best tally of 75 by Gosselin. Weathers and Lake Johnson rounded out the team score with twin 76s.
Weathers is also in the top 25 at 2-over 146. Brooks Thomas is one behind him at 147, while Gosselin totaled 149. Johnson shot 160. Kory Webb is at 154 playing as an individual.
The final round is an 8:45 a.m., shotgun start. Chattanooga takes tees 4-7 playing with Iowa State and UNCG.
UNCG sixth at Janney VCU Shootout
RICHMOND, Va. – The UNCG men’s golf team sits alone in sixth place overall after day one and 36 holes of the annual Janney VCU Shootout on Monday at the Country Club of Virginia Tuckahoe Creek Course. The third and final round will be played Tuesday morning with an 8:45 a.m. shotgun start.
The Spartans are 7-over 583 as a team, posting rounds of 293 and 290 in the first day. James Madison holds the overall team lead at 9-under-par 567 (278-289) while tournament host VCU and East Carolina are tied for second at even-par 576.
Freshman James Mishoe led the Spartans through 36 holes in just his second career collegiate event. Mishoe is tied for seventh overall at 2-under-par 142. He opened the event with a 1-over-par 73 in round one before carding a career-low 3-under-par 69 in round two. He carded five birdies, two bogeys and 11 par scores in his second round of play.
Junior Jake McGlone continued his strong play to start the season as he is tied for 11th overall. McGlone posted a 1-under-par 143 on the day, opening with an even-par 72 before notching a 1-under-par 71.
Freshman Bryce Hendrix and senior Taylor Coalson are tied for 51st overall at 7-over-par 151. Both golfers carded identical scores on the day with an opening round of 4-over 76 and a 3-over 75 in round two. Sophomore Josh Stockwell returned to the lineup and sits in a tie for 56th overall at 8-over 152. Stockwell opened with an even-par 72 in round one, when he tallied three birdies, three bogeys and 12 par scores.
Freshman Mark Johnston rebounded from his tough first collegiate tournament and sits in a tie for 24th place as an individual. Johnston posted a 2-over 146 on the afternoon, notching a 2-over 74 in round one and an even-par 72 in round two. His highlight of the day was also an eagle-3 on the par-5 hole No. 1.
Junior Riley Davis made his UNCG debut and posted a 6-over-par 150 as an individual. Davis opened the tournament with a 2-under 70 as he carded seven birdies in the round.