Wofford takes lead at Men?s Golf Championship

Men's golf championship page

PINEHURST, N.C. – Wofford turned in Monday’s low round with a 3-under 285 to take a one-stroke lead over defending champion ETSU at the Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship at the par-72, 7,091-yard Pinehurst No. 9. Day-one leader Jeremy Grab of Wofford continues to hold a one-stroke lead in the individual race.

The Terriers scorched the Jack Nicklaus Signature course Monday, with three of their counting four turning in rounds under par. Junior Andrew Novak turned in the low round of the day with a 5-under 67, recording seven birdies against just two bogeys to vault from a tie for 18th place after round one into a tie for fifth at 2-under 142 for the tournament.

Grab followed up his 4-under 68 with a 1-under 71 on Monday, playing the back nine at 2-under after making the turn at plus-1. He sits at 5-under 139 after two rounds and continues to lead UNCG’s Luke Haithcock by a stroke. Haithcock matched Grab’s round-two score with a 71 of his own.

The Terriers’ Evan Grenus turned in a 1-under 71, as well, and is tied for 11th as Wofford is even at 576 after two days.

Wofford and ETSU jockeyed back and forth for much of the day Monday, with the Terriers, who entered the day four strokes back of the Bucs, eventually leading by as many as four. ETSU clawed back into it and wrestled the lead away late in the day before playing the final two holes at a combined 3-over. A bogey on hole 17 from the Bucs’ Mateusz Gradecki, who was playing in the final grouping of the day, dropped ETSU a shot back.

ETSU sits at 1-over 577 with its 2-over 290 Monday.

The Bucs’ Adrian Meronk climbed up into a tie for third, shooting a 3-under 69 for a two-day total of 141. The nation’s 17th-ranked golfer is tied with Furman’s Bryce Howell, who followed up his 2-under 70 from the first round with a 1-under 71 Monday.

Gradecki give ETSU two in the top 10, as he’s tied for eighth at 1-under 143 after a 1-over 73 in the second round.

UNCG is in third in the team race at 5-over 581 after turning in the day’s only other under-par round, a 2-under 286. In addition to Haithcock in second, the Spartans have Josh Stockwell tied for 11th after a 2-under 70 moved him seven spots up the leaderboard.

Furman is two shots back of UNCG at 583 and has Wehman Hopke tied for fifth at 2-under 142 in addition to Howell in third. Hopke turned in a 2-under 70 Monday.

Chattanooga is in fifth at 10-over 586 and has Lake Johnson (T5, 2-under 142) and Kory Webb (T8, 1-under 141) in the top 10.

Western Carolina follows in sixth at 598 and saw freshman Mark David Johnson drop a spot into a tie for eighth despite shooting a 1-under 71 Monday.

Samford improved by 17 strokes Monday to move up a spot into seventh place (609), while Mercer completes the field at 618.

The tournament concludes Tuesday with tee times starting at 7:30 a.m. going off of holes 1 and 10. The winner will receive the SoCon’s automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals, while the individual winner will also receive an at-large bid if he is not on the winning team.

Live stats can be found at http://www.golfstatresults.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=10044.

2016 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
Pinehurst No. 9
Par 72, 7,091 yards
Pinehurst, N.C.

Team results
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total
1 Wofford 291 285 576
2 ETSU 287 290 577
3 UNCG 295 286 581
4 Furman 290 293 583
5 Chattanooga 292 294 586
6 Western Carolina 306 292 598
7 Samford 313 296 609
8 Mercer 303 315 618

Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total
1 Jeremy Grab, Wofford 68 71 139
2 Luke Haithcock, UNCG 69 71 140
T3 Adrian Meronk, ETSU 72 69 141
T3 Bryce Howell, Furman 70 71 141
T5 Andrew Novak, Wofford 75 67 142
T5 Lake Johnson, Chattanooga 72 70 142
T5 Wehman Hopke, Furman 72 70 142
T8 Mark David Johnson, Western Carolina 72 71 143
T8 Kory Webb, Chattanooga 71 72 143
T8 Mateusz Gradecki, ETSU 70 73 143

-www.SoConSports.com-