UTC senior Jonathan Hodge is tied for 11th after the first 36 holes of the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic at the El Paso Country Club in El Paso, Texas. Hodge’s two-over par 144 is six shots behind Charlotte’s Corey Nagy who shot 138 (67-71).
Hodge opened his day with a three-under par 68 to sit one shot back in second place behind Nagy’s 67. He started on the back nine with a double bogey before birdies at 12 and 13 got him back to even par. A bogey on 14 followed by four pars had him at one-over par at the turn.
A birdie on No. 2 got Hodge back to even and then the shot of the day, a hole-in-one on the 175-yard par three third hole pushed him to two-under par. He followed with a bogey on four, but birdies on seven and nine gave him a 32 (-4) on his back nine and his three-under par score of 68.
Hodge’s afternoon saw a topsy-turvy round develop. Three straight bogeys on three, four and five were followed by birdies at six, eight and nine to turn at even-par 36. The 213-yard par three 10th hole bit Hodge again with a double bogey. Bogeys at 12, 14 and 17 along with a double at 15 were offset by birdies at 16 and 18 to finish his second round with a 76 (+5).
Nagy leads the premier field at four-under par with Clemson’s Kyle Stanley one shot back at 139 (-3). The tournament concludes tomorrow with 18 holes with Hodge teeing off in the next to last group with Zach Sucher (UAB) and Jason Millard (Middle Tennessee) each at 144 as well.
The Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic began in 1974 features 27 golfers, all All-Americas from the previous season. The event is hosted by the Sun Bowl Association. Hodge was a second-team honoree in 2008. Hodge is the first Mocs entry in the event’s history.