The Lee University men’s golf team will be fighting to stay alive when play continues in the final 18 holes of the 54-hole NCAA DII National Championship being played at the Orange County National Golf Center. The top eight finishers in the event will advance to match play where the champion will be crowned.
The Flames started well on the front side but slipped at the beginning of the back and finished the 18 with a 285 total. The 36-hole tally stands at 574 and places the Flames in a tie for 13th in the 20-team field.
All is certainly not lost. Lee trails Wingate and Grand Valley State, a pair of teams tied for seventh (569) by five strokes. Cal State Monterey Bay and Henderson State are deadlocked for ninth and are only two up (572) on the Flames, while Ferris State and North Georgia are just one shot ahead (573) of Coach Evan Spence’s team.
Powerful Oklahoma Christian University is the tournament leader with a 9-under 552. West Florida and Colorado Christian (561) are tied for second while Central Oklahoma (562) and West Texas A&M (566) round out the top five.
Wyatt Provence of West Texas A&M jumped into the lead for medalists honors after firing a 5-under 66 on Wednesday and stands at 133. Colorado Christian’s Xavier Bighaus holds down the second spot. He slipped to a 1-under 70 and had a 136 total.
Three Flames played improved golf on Wednesday. Trey Melvin and George Cordall both shot even-par rounds of 71 while Oliver Lewis-Perkins had a 1-over 72. After 36 holes, Melvin and Cordall both stand at 1-over par (143) and are tied for 41st in the individual standings. Perkins shot a 74 on Tuesday and has a 146 total. After a par round on Tuesday, Bennett McNabb was 4-over (75) and he will also carry a 146 into Thursday’s play. Wyatt Bennett’s 76 tally did not count in Lee’s Wednesday team total. He will take a 147 into the final round of regular play on Thursday.
Lee will continue its fight to stay alive when it lines up on the tee box beginning at 9:20 on Thursday morning and then wait for all the final teams to finish.