Strong Second Round Lifts K-State Into 5th Place
Mar 02, 2020 | Men's Golf
BLUFFTON, South Carolina – Monday's second round at the Colleton River Collegiate was one K-State wished wouldn't end, and due to darkness, it won't until officially until Tuesday morning. The Wildcats turned in the second-lowest score in round two - 2-under 286 - before play was suspended, to rebound from a tough opener and sat in fifth with six teams left to finish at the Par 72, 7,167-yard Peter Dye Course at Colleton River Golf Club.
The Wildcats, who teed off the second round in ninth place, climbed five spots up the leaderboard to hold 5th place at 8-over par 584, one stroke behind 4th place Memphis.
"It was grind out there today," head coach Grant Robbins said. "The wind picked up about midway through the first round and we really struggled toward the end of that round. The guys did a really good job of putting that first round behind them and played really solid in round 2."
Senior Jacob Eklund continued his impressive play this spring, shooting 1-under par 143, and climbed three spots to sit at a tie for ninth. Junior Kyle Vance, who is competing as an individual, also improved his play from round one to round two, shooting 1-under par 71 in the second round to sit at even-par 144 and a tie for 17th.
Sophomore Will Hopkins, who had the biggest jump of the tournament with 47 spots from round one to round two, shot a tournament best 4-under par 68 in the second round to put him in a tie for 28th at 2-over par 146.
Junior George Clarke tallied 4-over par 148, and jumped up eight spots to 32nd. Senior Ben Fernandez also made a huge leap, moving up 22 spots to be positioned at a tie for 53rd with a 7-over par 151. Freshman Riccardo Leo, who at one point was in the top 5, finished the first 36 holes at 8-over par 152 and in a tie for 61st.
"We are in a good spot going into tomorrow," Robbins said. "It's all about coming out with the right mindset, staying in the process and competing until the very end."
Georgia Southern dominated the first round, shooting 7-under par 277, and continued under par in the second to sit in first place at 10-under 566. Big 12 foe Iowa State was the only other team to shoot under par in the first two rounds, and sat six strokes behind the Eagles. Iowa's Alex Schaake led the field after firing 70-69–139 (-5).
The final round of the Colleton River Collegiate can be followed hole by hole on golfstat.com.
Players Mentioned
