Golf Tied for Fifth After Two Rounds in Augusta
“It feels good to play 36 good holes as a team. We took a step in the right direction today getting four good scores in both rounds,” said head coach Larry Mays. “The team really implemented what we outlined this week in practice and I was proud to see that. We drew up a game plan and the team followed it - they stayed focused on each shot and patient when we made mistakes, which showed maturity as a team.”
Host Augusta State clears second-place South Carolina by eight strokes after firing an astounding 32-under par 544 with rounds of -14 and -18, respectively. The Gamecocks stand solely in second with a 36-hole 552 (-24), besting third-place Tennessee (559) by seven strokes. One stroke out of third-place, Clemson holds fourth with a 560 (-16), while Duke and Georgia Southern each shot 563s (-13) to tie for fifth, three strokes out of fourth and four strokes out of third.
Augusta State has three players in the top 10 on the individual leaderboard, including leading individualist Patrick Reed with an 11-under 133. Reed holds a two-stroke advantage over second-place Bud Cauley of Alabama and Corbin Mills of Clemson, who stand at 9-under 135. Three individuals share fourth-place at 8-under 136.
Senior Zabroske (Alpharetta, Ga.) opened the tournament shooting an even-par 72, but owned round two carding a 5-under par 67 to tie his all-time career-low round of 18. Four birdies over the first seven holes put the Eagle in good position. The senior Eagle erased two imperfections on holes five and eight with birdies and closed out the second round with a birdie on the final hole for his 5-under tally, placing him in a tie for 14th-place at 139 (-5).
Junior Joe Monte (Chantilly, Va.) combined rounds of 71 and 69 for a 4-under (140) opening day tally to put him in a tie for 17th-place with 18 holes to play. Monte tied his season-low round of 18 using five birdies and two bogeys for a 3-under 69 round two.
Three strokes back of Monte and tied for 33rd at 143 (-1), senior Spence Fulford (Rocky Mount, N.C.) paced the Eagles in the opening round with a 2-under par 70. Fulford manufactured the round using four birdies and two bogeys and followed with a second round 1-over 73. A double-bogey on hole three hindered the senior who split eight birdies on the day between two rounds of play.
Redshirt-freshman Florian Sander (Bregenz, Austria) stands at even-par after two rounds of 72s (144). In a tie for 41st, Sander posted equivalent birdies and bogeys in each round for the balanced scorecard.
Improving the most for Georgia Southern over round one, Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) shaved six strokes off his opening round and carded a 2-under 70 second round. After getting off to a rough start with a 4-over round one, Deal started the second round with a clean slate and collected four birdies on two bogeys for the under-par tally. Deal is tied for 59th after two rounds with a 146 (+2).
“Obviously Ryan’s [Zabroske] 67 was the catalyst today, but I was proud of Matt [Deal] for the way he bounced back as well. He got off to a rough start, but had a good second round with a two-under 70,” stated Mays. “Overall, I was very proud of the team today for the maturity they showed and the way they were able to follow the team goals we put down on paper.”
The third and final round of play begins on Sunday at 9 a.m. Georgia Southern tees off on the front nine beginning at 9:45 a.m. led by Deal. The Eagles are paired with Duke and Clemson for the final round. Fans can follow the conclusion of the tournament via live scoring at www.golfstat.com.
- Category: Golf
- Published on Saturday, 03 April 2010 22:08
