Gandon, Wildcats Atop Leaderboard Following Day One
Mar 16, 2019 | Men's Golf
HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS, Fla. – The Kansas State men's golf team and senior Jeremy Gandon both found themselves in first place following the first two rounds of the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular at the par-72, 6,793-yard El Campeon Golf Course at the Mission Inn Resort & Club on Saturday.
Gandon finished the day at 7-under par 137 and moved up seven places during a season best 5-under par 67 in round two. The Charpey, France, native heads into Sunday's final round with a one-stroke lead.
The Wildcats carded an 8-under par 568, and, after being in second place following the first round, moved past then-first place Illinois State to slide on top after day one. K-State is two strokes ahead of second-place UCF and three strokes ahead of Illinois State.
"Overall it was a good day for us," head coach Grant Robbins said. "Jeremy and Jake (Eklund) gave us a couple of low rounds and the other guys did a great job of just grinding it out all day. We are right where we want to be going into tomorrow. We just need to stay with the process, focus on the things we can control, and go have fun."
Junior Jacob Eklund is also among the leaders, shooting 3-under par 141, including a tournament-best 6-under par 66 in round one. He is tied for fifth headed into Sunday.
Junior Ben Fernandez is tied for 15th after tallying a 1-over par 145. Senior Roland Massimino moved up 11 spots in round two, finishing two strokes behind Fernandez at 3-over par 147 and in a tie for 27th. Senior JC Campbell finished tied for 49th, a 21-place improvement during round two, to finish 7-over 151.
Freshman Will Hopkins, who is competing as an individual, finished the day at 14-over par 158 and is in a tie for 89th place.
Gandon is one stroke ahead of UCF's Bobby Bai and two strokes ahead of UCF's Kyler Tate and Illinois State's Joel Durnford.
Live scoring of the final round of the Mission Inn Spring Spectacular can be followed at www.golfstat.com.
Mission Inn Spring Spectacular
El Campeon Golf Course – Mission Inn Resort and Club
Howey-in-the-Hills, Fla.
Par 72 /6,793 yards
Team Scores: 1. Kansas State 282-285–568 (-8); 2. UCF 286-284–570; 3. Illinois State 279-292–571 (-5); 4. Yale 285-293–578 (+2); 5. Eastern Michigan 286-293–579 (+3); 6. Cincinnati 290-294–584 (+8); 7. Northern Illinois 298-293–591 (+15); 8. George Mason 299-293–592 (+16); 9. Bethune-Cookman 299-296–595 (+19); 10. Wisconsin 295-301–595 (+20); 11. Indiana 303-295–598 (+22); 12. Florida A&M 308-299–607 (+31); T13. Richmond 301-307–608 (+32); T13. Princeton 304-304–608 (+32); 15. North Alabama 312-298–610 (+34); 16. Akron 311-305–616 (+40); 17. Yale (B) 314-305–619 (+43); 18. Leigh 313-308–621 (+45).
K-State Individuals: 1. Jeremy Gandon 70-67–137 (-7); T5. Jacob Eklund 66-75–141 (-3); T15. Ben Fernandez 72-73–145 (+1); T27. Roland Massimino 75-72–147 (+3); T49. JC Campbell 78-73–151 (+7); T89. Will Hopkins* 81-77–158 (+14).
*denotes competing as an individual
Players Mentioned
