KAUAI, Hawaii – A pair of sophomores is pacing the ETSU men’s golf team out in Hawaii.
Jack Rhea and Shiso Go both posted scores below par as second-round play concluded on Monday from the Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational.
For the second consecutive round, Rhea totaled seven birdies en route to carding a 3-under 69 and moved 21 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 20th at 3-under-par 141. Again, Rhea – who started on hole No. 8 – was on fire down the stretch, as he birdied four straight holes – Nos. 2-5 – which made up for another up-and-down run earlier in the round. Rhea was 3-under through his first seven holes; however, he posted back-to-back bogeys, followed by a double-bogey over three holes (Nos. 15-17), which moved him to 1-over. Rhea bounced back in a big way to move up the leaderboard by totaling his 69. Rhea’s 14 birdies are the second-most in the 112-player field.
Go shot a 1-under 71 for the second straight day, but one hole cost the Buccaneer sophomore mightily as he’s tied for 23rd at 2-under-par 142. Following his third birdie of the round on the par-3, 255-yard No. 13, Go recorded a 9 on the par-4, 338-yard No. 14, moving him to 3-over for the round. However, Go continued to battle and finished with four birdies over his last 10 holes – including three consecutive from Nos. 4-6 – to end the day with a 71.
The Buccaneer duo and the remainder of the field are chasing McNeese’s Blake Elliott, as he holds the 36-hole lead at 13-under-par 131. Elliott went low on Monday by firing a 9-under 63, which moved him seven spots up the board to hold a two-shot lead over Pepperdine’s Joshua McCarthy. McCarthy began the day in second and held his ground by posting a 5-under 67 to move his score to 11-under-par 133.
As a team, ETSU shot a 6-over 294 in round two and the Bucs are tied for 15th at 7-over-par 583.
Pepperdine continues to lead the in the team standings as the 11th-ranked Waves are at 19-under-par 557. Missouri went low and moved into second place after recording a 13-under 275 on Monday. The Tigers enter the final round three shots back at 15-under-par 561.
The tournament wraps up with its final round beginning Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET.