Once again battling strong winds and dust, the Lee University men’s golf team shot a 301 and sits in third place after two rounds of the Gulf South Conference Championship. It was the second round in a row that the Flames shot a 301 and now have a 602 after two rounds.
The University of West Florida continues to have a commanding lead in the championship. The Argos have a 28-stroke lead over second place Delta State University. UWF has shot 572 over the two rounds while DSU has shot a 600.
George Cordall paces the Flames shooting 71 for one-under on the day.
He sits tied for fourth place even par for the tournament.
Luke Stock shot a 75 in round two and is in tenth place at five-over. Bennett McNabb is tied for 23rd with a 77.
Mitchell Strickland and Drew Zielinski each shot a 78 in round two. Strickland is 12-over while Zielinski is 14-over.
The Flames will tee off in the final round on Saturday morning at 11:00 AM EST.
Coach Evan Spence’s Thoughts:
“Another tough day out there in the wind today where we just didn’t execute our best. Always trying to learn as much as possible any time we get the chance to compete. I think this week has proven that we’ll need to spend some time sharpening up our ball flight control before regionals in the event we see more wind like this down in Florida. Still have a good opportunity tomorrow to put a good team round up on the board and get some momentum rolling for the rest of the postseason.”
The Lee University women’s golf team will be holding down third place in the Gulf South Conference Championship when the final round of the 54-hole event is staged on Saturday at the Tunica National Golf and Tennis Club. All eight teams in the tourney were forced to battle winds that ranged from 15-18 mph the entire day and caused scores to be posted higher than usual.
The University of West Florida is the leader heading into the final round. The Argonauts tallied a 27-over par after an opening 18-over for a 36-hole total of +45. Union University dropped to second place. The Lady Bulldogs fired a 32-over after a first round of 17-over and a +49. The Lady Flames still have an opportunity to catch both clubs after a 33-over today added to the opening round of 18-over on Thursday. Lee stands at +51, trailing West Florida by 6 strokes and Union by two. The University of Montevallo (+57) and Mississippi College (+71) round out the top five.
The amazing day saw Spring Hill’s Kilrie Noe shoot an even-par round of 72 on Friday after an 86 on Thursday. She moved all the way up to eighth place in the individual standings. The tourney leader, Union’s Aubrey Payne dropped to a 6-over 78 on Friday after a 6-under 68 opening round and continues to lead the medalist play. Alia Scotka (West Florida) holds down second. She opened with an even-par 72 and 6-over 78 in the second round for a 150 total.
Lee’s Hannah Nall, who didn’t make the top four on Thursday, went from the bottom to the top on Friday. She posted a 6-over 78 and stands in 15th place. Banthita “Pearl” Phoncharatkun was on her way to a solid round until the last two or three holes. She finished with an 8-over 80 and stands tied for eighth in the tourney.
Olivia Ireland followed with a 9-over 81 and leads the Lee golfers with seventh place overall. Lehane Louis-Dumond had the final score that counted in today’s action (10-over 82). She is tied for 13th in the medalist standings. Haley Blevins will be seeking to get back on track on Saturday. She still holds down a tie for 13th in the standings.
The heat index is predicted to be around 85 degrees and the wind continue to blow when the Lady Flames tee off in the final round of the 54-hole event on Saturday at noon.
Coach Geandra Almeida’s thoughts:
“Today was definitely a challenging day for us. We are obviously disappointed with how we played. There were too many big numbers and high scores, which is not what we were aiming for. That said, I still feel like we are very much in the game. We are only a few shots out of first, and in these tough conditions, anything can happen. Today was a perfect example of how quickly things can shift with just one or two holes. No matter what tomorrow brings, I know the girls will fight for every shot. We just need to go out, have a solid day on the course and see where it puts us.”