Sean Elliott
Daytona Beach, Fla. – (Individual Results | Team Results | Combo Results)
The second round of the NAIA Men’s Golf Championships was cut short Wednesday by inclement weather at the Hills Course at LPGA International.
Lightning in the area forced suspension of play just before 5 p.m.
with 80 players including all five Dalton State golfers still on the course. Among those who did not finish their round were co-leaders Sean Elliott of Dalton State and Clayton French of Marian (In.) who are tied at 6-under par.
Levi Nix was even par through 12 second round holes for a total of +3. Chase Jones, who shot a 79 on Tuesdayy, had improved to +2 through nine holes.
Anthony D’Angelo, who dropped out on Tuesday, was playing hurt through nine Wednesday rounds at +4. Maximillian Bruck fired a 75 on Tuesday, but through 12 on Wednesday he was +10 for the round.
“It’s going to be a long tomorrow,” said Dalton State Coach Ben Rickett. “Lots of other teams are in the same boat as us. We need to finish off Wednesday’s scheduled rounds and then get refocused for the Thursday afternoon round. We have had long days before so it isn’t anything the guys haven’t dealt with.”
The clubhouse leader is Nikolaj Brons-Piche of Texas Wesleyan, who is at 5-under and tied with first-round leader Alastair Tidcombe. Tidcombe was 2-over through 12 holes when play was halted.
First-round co-leaders Coastal Georgia and William Woods (Mo.) were unable to complete their rounds but remained atop the standings. The defending champion Mariners were even par for the day and 6-under for the tournament when play stopped, giving them a five-shot cushion over the Owls. Wayland Baptist (Texas) is third at 6-over 582, the lowest score among teams who finished the second round.
Johnson & Wales (Fla.) made the biggest turnaround on day two, bouncing back from a disappointing 307 in the opening round to post a team score of 277 and charge to fifth place at 8-over 584. The Wildcats' team score was just three shots off the tournament record of 274 set by North Florida in 1993.
The shot of the day came from Brons-Piche, who aced the 190-yard seventh hole with a 6-iron en route to a round of 2-under-par 70. After the ace, Brons-Piche went on to birdie his final two holes.
The second round will resume at 8 a.m. Thursday, and the third round will begin at 8:10 a.m. with teams in the same pairings as Wednesday. After the third round, the field will be cut to the top 17 teams and 40 individuals including ties.