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ETSU Leads Men?s Golf Championship After First Day
PINEHURST, N.C. – ETSU shot a first-round 286 Sunday to take a three-shot lead after day one of the Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship at the par-72, 7,091-yard Pinehurst No. 9. Defending individual champion J.T. Poston of Western Carolina holds the individual lead at 6-under-par 66.
The No. 40 Bucs turned in a 2-under 286 for the lowest first-round score in the tournament since Furman shot a blistering 280 in the first round in 2010. ETSU, which started off of hole No. 10, was paced by sophomore Mateusz Gradecki and junior Adrian Meronk, who sit third and fourth in the individual standings, respectively. Gradecki turned in a 4-under 68 Sunday, making the turn at 3-under after posting four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. He added two more birdies and a bogey on the front to match his best round of the season.
Meronk, who is ranked 18th nationally, is right behind at 3-under 69. The Wroclaw, Poland, native, who learned Friday that he’ll represent the European Team in the Palmer Cup, made the turn at even-par after three birdies and three bogeys. Meronk rebounded with a flawless front nine, picking up birdies on holes 3, 7 and 8.
The Bucs are three strokes clear of Wofford, which put three players in the top eight on day one as part of a 1-over 289 team round. Terrier senior Brannan Hudson held the individual lead for much of the day and was three holes from a blemish-free card before bogeys on 16 and 17. Hudson took the lead into the clubhouse at 5-under 67 only to see Poston surpass him on his final hole of the day. Hudson turned in tournament-best seven birdies on the afternoon, with five of them coming on the front nine.
Joining Hudson in the top 10 are Wofford teammates Andrew Novak and Evan Grenus. Novak is part of a three-way tie for fifth at 1-under 71, while Grenus is a shot back at even-par 72 in a two-way tie for eighth with UNCG’s Luke Haithcock.
Chattanooga sits third at 3-over 291, while UNCG is fourth at 6-over 294. The Mocs and Spartans each had three finish in the top 10 on day one. Wes Gosselin paced Chattanooga with a 1-under 71 to sit in a tie for fifth with Wofford’s Novak and UNCG’s Jake McGlone, while UTC’s Ewan Scott and Andrew Weathers and UNCG’s Roy Dixon are all among an eight-way tie for 10th at 1-over 73.
In the individual race, WCU’s Poston turned in the only clean card of the round, as he birdied three holes each on either side of the turn and didn’t have a bogey on the day. Poston, ranked 62nd nationally, carded his 6-under despite playing the second half of his round in the rain. The reigning SoCon Player of the Year, Poston led his fourth straight round in the SoCon tournament, as he was the wire-to-wire winner in 2014.
Mercer sits fifth after day one with a 9-over 297 on the day. The Bears, who won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament last season, got off to a hot start to hold the early lead but saw its scoring four post 13 scores of bogey or worse on the front nine after turning in 11 birdies on the back. Mercer started the day on hole 10 alongside ETSU.
The Bears have a trio of golfers among the tie for 10th in Jerry Ren, Sean Smothers and Trey Rule, who each posted a 1-over 73. Rule, who won the A-Sun individual crown last season, was in contention for much of the day, nipping at Hudson’s heels at 5-under through 13 holes before a disastrous three-hole stretch in which he went triple-bogey, double-bogey, bogey to surrender six strokes and fall off the pace.
Western Carolina sits sixth as a team with a 10-over 298, followed by Furman at 12-over 300 and Samford at 17-over 305. Furman’s Preston Cole and Wehman Hopke are among the tie 10th at 73, while the Bulldogs had the only two eagles on the day, as Robert Adams and Ashton Nix each shot a 3 on the par-5 No. 8.
The tournament resumes Monday at 8 a.m. with UNCG, Mercer and Western Carolina going off of No. 1 at 10-minute intervals. Furman and Samford go off No. 10 at 8:20, followed by leaders ETSU, Wofford and Chattanooga at 8:50 off No. 1.
Live stats can be found at http://golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=7208.
2015 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
Pinehurst No. 9
Par 72, 7,091 yards
Pinehurst, N.C.
Team results
Place Team Rd1
1. ETSU 286
2. Wofford 289
3. Chattanooga 291
4. UNCG 294
5. Mercer 297
6. Western Carolina 298
7. Furman 300
8. Samford 305
Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1
1. J.T. Poston, Western Carolina 66
2. Brannan Hudson, Wofford 67
3. Mateusz Gradecki, ETSU 68
4. Adrian Meronk, ETSU 69
T5. Andrew Novak, Wofford 71
T5. Jake McGlone, UNCG 71
T5. Wes Gosselin, Chattanooga 71
T8. Evan Grenus, Wofford 72
T8. Luke Haithcock, UNCG 72
T10. Preston Cole, Furman 73
T10. Jerry Ren, Mercer 73
T10. Wehman Hopke, Furman 73
T10. Sean Smothers, Mercer 73
T10. Andrew Weathers, Chattanooga 73
T10. Trey Rule, Mercer 73
T10. Ewan Scott, Chattanooga 73
T10. Roy Dixon, UNCG 73
The No. 40 Bucs turned in a 2-under 286 for the lowest first-round score in the tournament since Furman shot a blistering 280 in the first round in 2010. ETSU, which started off of hole No. 10, was paced by sophomore Mateusz Gradecki and junior Adrian Meronk, who sit third and fourth in the individual standings, respectively. Gradecki turned in a 4-under 68 Sunday, making the turn at 3-under after posting four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. He added two more birdies and a bogey on the front to match his best round of the season.
Meronk, who is ranked 18th nationally, is right behind at 3-under 69. The Wroclaw, Poland, native, who learned Friday that he’ll represent the European Team in the Palmer Cup, made the turn at even-par after three birdies and three bogeys. Meronk rebounded with a flawless front nine, picking up birdies on holes 3, 7 and 8.
The Bucs are three strokes clear of Wofford, which put three players in the top eight on day one as part of a 1-over 289 team round. Terrier senior Brannan Hudson held the individual lead for much of the day and was three holes from a blemish-free card before bogeys on 16 and 17. Hudson took the lead into the clubhouse at 5-under 67 only to see Poston surpass him on his final hole of the day. Hudson turned in tournament-best seven birdies on the afternoon, with five of them coming on the front nine.
Joining Hudson in the top 10 are Wofford teammates Andrew Novak and Evan Grenus. Novak is part of a three-way tie for fifth at 1-under 71, while Grenus is a shot back at even-par 72 in a two-way tie for eighth with UNCG’s Luke Haithcock.
Chattanooga sits third at 3-over 291, while UNCG is fourth at 6-over 294. The Mocs and Spartans each had three finish in the top 10 on day one. Wes Gosselin paced Chattanooga with a 1-under 71 to sit in a tie for fifth with Wofford’s Novak and UNCG’s Jake McGlone, while UTC’s Ewan Scott and Andrew Weathers and UNCG’s Roy Dixon are all among an eight-way tie for 10th at 1-over 73.
In the individual race, WCU’s Poston turned in the only clean card of the round, as he birdied three holes each on either side of the turn and didn’t have a bogey on the day. Poston, ranked 62nd nationally, carded his 6-under despite playing the second half of his round in the rain. The reigning SoCon Player of the Year, Poston led his fourth straight round in the SoCon tournament, as he was the wire-to-wire winner in 2014.
Mercer sits fifth after day one with a 9-over 297 on the day. The Bears, who won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament last season, got off to a hot start to hold the early lead but saw its scoring four post 13 scores of bogey or worse on the front nine after turning in 11 birdies on the back. Mercer started the day on hole 10 alongside ETSU.
The Bears have a trio of golfers among the tie for 10th in Jerry Ren, Sean Smothers and Trey Rule, who each posted a 1-over 73. Rule, who won the A-Sun individual crown last season, was in contention for much of the day, nipping at Hudson’s heels at 5-under through 13 holes before a disastrous three-hole stretch in which he went triple-bogey, double-bogey, bogey to surrender six strokes and fall off the pace.
Western Carolina sits sixth as a team with a 10-over 298, followed by Furman at 12-over 300 and Samford at 17-over 305. Furman’s Preston Cole and Wehman Hopke are among the tie 10th at 73, while the Bulldogs had the only two eagles on the day, as Robert Adams and Ashton Nix each shot a 3 on the par-5 No. 8.
The tournament resumes Monday at 8 a.m. with UNCG, Mercer and Western Carolina going off of No. 1 at 10-minute intervals. Furman and Samford go off No. 10 at 8:20, followed by leaders ETSU, Wofford and Chattanooga at 8:50 off No. 1.
Live stats can be found at http://golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=7208.
2015 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
Pinehurst No. 9
Par 72, 7,091 yards
Pinehurst, N.C.
Team results
Place Team Rd1
1. ETSU 286
2. Wofford 289
3. Chattanooga 291
4. UNCG 294
5. Mercer 297
6. Western Carolina 298
7. Furman 300
8. Samford 305
Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1
1. J.T. Poston, Western Carolina 66
2. Brannan Hudson, Wofford 67
3. Mateusz Gradecki, ETSU 68
4. Adrian Meronk, ETSU 69
T5. Andrew Novak, Wofford 71
T5. Jake McGlone, UNCG 71
T5. Wes Gosselin, Chattanooga 71
T8. Evan Grenus, Wofford 72
T8. Luke Haithcock, UNCG 72
T10. Preston Cole, Furman 73
T10. Jerry Ren, Mercer 73
T10. Wehman Hopke, Furman 73
T10. Sean Smothers, Mercer 73
T10. Andrew Weathers, Chattanooga 73
T10. Trey Rule, Mercer 73
T10. Ewan Scott, Chattanooga 73
T10. Roy Dixon, UNCG 73
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