The Lee men's golf team will be seeking to move up in the team totals when it begins play in the second round of the NCAA Division II South/SE Regional being staged at the prestigious Robert Trent Jones at the Shoals course.
Playing from the rugged 7407-yards purple tees, the Flames posted a team total of +11 299 on Monday and trails Lynn University by 14 strokes. The Florida squad turned in an impressive -4 284 and leads the University of West Florida by two shots. The Argos turned in a -2 286 while Florida Southern holds down third place after a +1 289 and Newberry fired a +2 290.
Barry University (Fla.) rounds out the top five with a +4 292.
The Flames will enter Tuesday's play in the 54-hole event in the 14th position. However, they are only one stroke out of 10th place, which is currently held by four other teams in the field of 20 clubs and 107 individual players.The Flames are scheduled to tee off at 12 noon (CDT) on Tuesday.
Lee seniors Shea Sylvester and Adam Wright finished their 18 holes with 2-over par 74 totals and are tied for 38th place in the medalist hunt. Sophomore Matt Johnson followed at 3-over 75 and is tied for 48th, while freshman Scott Odell totaled a 4-over 76 and is listed in the 58th position. Junior Corey Sheppard rounded out the first-day scoring in the 54-hole event with a 7-over 79.
"Our guys did a really good job of battling for every shot today," said Lee assistant golf coach Hunter Vest. "They didn't allow any bad holes/shots to hang over them as they moved forward with their round. Overall, I felt like we had to work too hard, too often to save par on some holes that we should have had better opportunities on. That being said, we are just one-third of the way into the tournament and have no doubt that we will be sharper tomorrow and take advantage of the opportunities upcoming."
As expected, Chandler Blanchet of West Florida is the medalist leader. He fired a 6-under par 66. He is being pressured by Florida Southern's John VanDerlaan, who carded an impressive 5-under 67. Newberry's Carlos Leandro, Nova Southeastern's Richard Mansell and Young Harris' Valter Andersson are deadlocked for the third spot with a -3 69.