Eagles Improve in Second Round at the Gator
2/13/2011 2:50:00 AM | Men's Golf
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - The Georgia Southern Golf team shaved nine strokes off its opening-round total with a second-round 301 at the 33rd Sun Trust Gator Invitational. The Eagles, paced by Florian Sander's (Bregenz, Austria) two-round 147 (+7), go into the final round in a tie for 13th place with Jacksonville. Tournament host Florida leads the field, posting a 3-over 563 at the par-70, 6,701-yard Mark Bostick Golf Course at the University of Florida. The Gators also lead the individual standings as Andres Echavarria leads Ole Miss' Jonathan Randolph, the 2010 Schenkel Invitational individual medalist, by one stroke at 1-under (69-70=139) for the tournament.
Sander opened both rounds with birdies, both dropping on a par-4 (#1). The sophomore would then add another birdie on the ninth hole in the second round to record a second round 4-over 74 to move into a tie for 34th place. Redshirt-freshman Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh, Scotland) fired a pair of 76s to finish the day in a tie for 48th place.
Georgia Southern saw its team total lowered in the afternoon as four Eagles bettered their score from opening round. Junior Lewis Gruber (Tallahassee, Fla.) had the most notable improvement on his card, lowering his second-round score by six strokes. Gruber's four birdies scattered throughout the final 18 holes helped him record a 5-over 75 to close the day in a 65th-place tie. Gruber is tied with teammate Logan Blondell (Lakeland, Fla.), who shot two birdies back-to-back on a par-3 (#11) and par-5 (#12) to sign for a 6-over 76.
Senior Matt Deal (Statesboro, Ga.) finished the day with a 10-over 80. Hayden Anderson (Knoxville, Tenn.), competing as an individual, closed out the second round with a 7-over 77.
Georgia Southern starts the final round tomorrow, February 13, at 8 a.m. Thomas Sharkey will tee off on hole-1 while Hayden Anderson and Matt Deal will tee off separately on hole-10 for the Eagles.
Fans can get up-to-date scores from the Sun Trust Gator Invitational by visiting www.golfstat.com and can view tournament information at www.gatorzone.com.
