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ETSU leads SoCon Men’s Golf Championship after two rounds
Bucs’ Archie Davies leads the field at 9-under-par
GREENSBORO, Ga. – ETSU holds a commanding 11-stroke lead at the 2021 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship after Monday’s two rounds of play Reynolds Lake Oconee’s par-72, 7,393-yard The Oconee Course. Redshirt freshman Archie Davies leads the field at 9-under-par 135 to pace three Bucs in the top 10.
ETSU, ranked 50th in the latest Golfstat rankings, held a two-stroke lead over Western Carolina after round one but created some space in round two, shooting a collective 9-under-par 279 to complement its first-round 284 for a total of 563. The Catamounts, the only other team under par after day one, shot a 2-under 286 in the morning round before following that up with an even-par 288 in round two (574).
Furman sits third at 6-over 582, followed by Wofford (586), two-time defending champion UNCG (587), Mercer, (591), Chattanooga (598) and Samford (599). The Terriers were the big movers in round two, jumping three spots in the team standings with a 3-under 285, the third-best round of the day.
Davies opened with a 3-under 69 in the morning, sitting a stroke back of Western Carolina’s Pierre Viallaneix heading into round two. The Carlisle, England, native then posted the low round of the day in the afternoon, scorching the course for a bogey-free 6-under 66 to open up a four-stroke over Viallaneix, WCU’s Louis Theys and ETSU’s Trevor Hulbert. Davies birdied his last three holes of the day and totaled 10 against just one bogey over the first two rounds.
Hulbert and Theys both shot 5-under 67s in round two after opening-round even-par 72s to climb three spots into the tie for second at 5-under 139. Viallaneix dropped a spot despite shooting his second round under par on the day, closing the afternoon with a 1-under 79.
ETSU’s Jack Rhea joins his teammates in the top 10 as he is tied for sixth at 1-under 143.
Furman has a pair in the top 10 in fifth-place Keller Harper (4-under 140) and eighth-place Mac Scott (even-par 144). Harper entered the tournament leading the league in stroke average at 70.78.
Mercer’s Martin Plukka is tied for sixth at 1-under 143, while teammate Tyler Copp is tied for ninth at 1-over 145.
Wofford rounds out the individual top 10 with Walker Jones and Matthew Copeland, who posted matching 1-over 145s with 2-over 74s in the morning round and 1-under 71s in the afternoon to match Copp in a tie for ninth.
The Bucs are seeking their 21st team title and first since 2017. Should Davies hold on, he’d be the Bucs’ 16th individual medalist and second straight, as teammate Shiso Go, who is tied for 12th at 2-over 146, won in a sudden-death playoff in 2019. The 2020 tournament was not contested due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday’s final round tees off at 8:30 a.m. Live stats can be found here.
2021 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
The Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee
Par 72, 7,393 yards
Greensboro, Ga.
Team results
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total (to par)
1. ETSU 284 279 563 (-13)
2. Western Carolina 286 288 574 (-2)
3. Furman 294 288 582 (+6)
4. Wofford 301 285 586 (+10)
5. UNCG 296 291 587 (+11)
6. Mercer 300 291 591 (+15)
7. Chattanooga 300 298 598 (+22)
8. Samford 302 297 599 (+23)
Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1 Rd1 Total (to par)
1. Archie Davies, ETSU 69 66 135 (-9)
T2. Louis Theys, Western Carolina 72 67 139 (-5)
T2. Trevor Hulbert, ETSU 72 67 139 (-5)
T2. Pierre Viallaneix, Western Carolina 68 71 139 (-5)
5. Keller Harper, Furman 70 70 140 (-4)
T6. Martin Plukka, Mercer 73 70 143 (-1)
T6. Jack Rhea, ETSU 72 71 143 (-1)
8. Mac Scott, Furman 72 72 144 (E)
T9. Tyler Copp, Mercer 75 70 145 (+1)
T9. Walker Jones, Wofford 74 71 145 (+1)
T9. Matthew Copeland, Wofford 74 71 145 (+1)
ETSU, ranked 50th in the latest Golfstat rankings, held a two-stroke lead over Western Carolina after round one but created some space in round two, shooting a collective 9-under-par 279 to complement its first-round 284 for a total of 563. The Catamounts, the only other team under par after day one, shot a 2-under 286 in the morning round before following that up with an even-par 288 in round two (574).
Furman sits third at 6-over 582, followed by Wofford (586), two-time defending champion UNCG (587), Mercer, (591), Chattanooga (598) and Samford (599). The Terriers were the big movers in round two, jumping three spots in the team standings with a 3-under 285, the third-best round of the day.
Davies opened with a 3-under 69 in the morning, sitting a stroke back of Western Carolina’s Pierre Viallaneix heading into round two. The Carlisle, England, native then posted the low round of the day in the afternoon, scorching the course for a bogey-free 6-under 66 to open up a four-stroke over Viallaneix, WCU’s Louis Theys and ETSU’s Trevor Hulbert. Davies birdied his last three holes of the day and totaled 10 against just one bogey over the first two rounds.
Hulbert and Theys both shot 5-under 67s in round two after opening-round even-par 72s to climb three spots into the tie for second at 5-under 139. Viallaneix dropped a spot despite shooting his second round under par on the day, closing the afternoon with a 1-under 79.
ETSU’s Jack Rhea joins his teammates in the top 10 as he is tied for sixth at 1-under 143.
Furman has a pair in the top 10 in fifth-place Keller Harper (4-under 140) and eighth-place Mac Scott (even-par 144). Harper entered the tournament leading the league in stroke average at 70.78.
Mercer’s Martin Plukka is tied for sixth at 1-under 143, while teammate Tyler Copp is tied for ninth at 1-over 145.
Wofford rounds out the individual top 10 with Walker Jones and Matthew Copeland, who posted matching 1-over 145s with 2-over 74s in the morning round and 1-under 71s in the afternoon to match Copp in a tie for ninth.
The Bucs are seeking their 21st team title and first since 2017. Should Davies hold on, he’d be the Bucs’ 16th individual medalist and second straight, as teammate Shiso Go, who is tied for 12th at 2-over 146, won in a sudden-death playoff in 2019. The 2020 tournament was not contested due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Tuesday’s final round tees off at 8:30 a.m. Live stats can be found here.
2021 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
The Oconee Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee
Par 72, 7,393 yards
Greensboro, Ga.
Team results
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total (to par)
1. ETSU 284 279 563 (-13)
2. Western Carolina 286 288 574 (-2)
3. Furman 294 288 582 (+6)
4. Wofford 301 285 586 (+10)
5. UNCG 296 291 587 (+11)
6. Mercer 300 291 591 (+15)
7. Chattanooga 300 298 598 (+22)
8. Samford 302 297 599 (+23)
Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1 Rd1 Total (to par)
1. Archie Davies, ETSU 69 66 135 (-9)
T2. Louis Theys, Western Carolina 72 67 139 (-5)
T2. Trevor Hulbert, ETSU 72 67 139 (-5)
T2. Pierre Viallaneix, Western Carolina 68 71 139 (-5)
5. Keller Harper, Furman 70 70 140 (-4)
T6. Martin Plukka, Mercer 73 70 143 (-1)
T6. Jack Rhea, ETSU 72 71 143 (-1)
8. Mac Scott, Furman 72 72 144 (E)
T9. Tyler Copp, Mercer 75 70 145 (+1)
T9. Walker Jones, Wofford 74 71 145 (+1)
T9. Matthew Copeland, Wofford 74 71 145 (+1)
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