UNCG storms into lead at SoCon Men's Golf Championship

SoCon Men's Golf Championship page

PINEHURST, N.C. – UNCG posted the only sub-par round of the day Monday, battling a steady light rain to turn a seven-stroke deficit into a 12-stroke lead heading in Tuesday’s final round of the Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship at the par-72, 7,118-yard Pinehurst No. 9. The Spartans enter the final round with three players among a four-way tie for first place in the individual race.

UNCG, seeking its first-ever SoCon title, scorched the wet course for a 3-under-par 285 Monday, vaulting from third place into the team lead at 6-over 582, 12 strokes clear of day-one leader Chattanooga and three-time defending champion ETSU, which both stand at 18-over 594 after two rounds.

It was no secret how the Spartans did it, as they got outstanding performances from the trio of Bryce Hendrix, Nick Lyerly and Josh Stockwell, who all share the individual lead with Furman’s Keller Harper at 1-under 143.

Stockwell posted the low round of the day at 3-under 69, countering two bogeys with five birdies for his second-best round of the season to shoot up 10 spots in the standings. Lyerly, a freshman, jumped five spots with a 2-under 70 that featured just one bogey and a trio of birdies. Hendrix was alone in first at 4-under late in his round but bogeyed each of the last three holes to settle for a 1-under 71.

Furman’s Harper was paired with Hendrix and was working on a clean card, also at 4-under, until he bogeyed holes 16 and 17 to finish at 2-under for the day. Teammate Connor Bruns is also in the top 10, as his 1-over 73 Monday put him tied for ninth at 4-over for the tournament. The Paladins were the only team other than UNCG to put up a score under 300 on the day, shaving seven strokes off their first-round score with a 6-over 294 to sit in fourth, one stroke behind Chattanooga and ETSU at 19-over 595.

The Mocs dropped a spot in the team standings after shooting a 16-over 304 Monday, with Lake Johnson turning in the squad’s best card at 2-over 74 to move up two spots into a tie for ninth. Will Porter, who was second after the opening round, dropped seven spots into the tie for ninth with a 6-over 78 Monday.

ETSU, which trailed Chattanooga by four strokes after day one, has three players in the top 10 in freshmen Shiso Go and Jack Rhea, who are tied for sixth at 2-over 146. Go rebounded from a 75 Sunday to post a 1-under 71 in the second round and move eight spots up the leaderboard. Rhea dropped three spots with a 3-over 75 Monday. Defending SoCon medalist Geuntae Kim is still in the hunt to defend his title, as he is tied for ninth at 4-over after turning in a 76 Monday. 

Western Carolina’s Dylan MacQueen moved up one spot to fifth place after Monday’s even-par round and is sitting at 1-over 145 heading into the final round.

Day-one leader Harlan Winn of Samford shot 6-over Monday to drop into eighth place at 3-over 147.

Mercer moved up one spot in the standings with a collective 16-over 304 Monday, shaving five strokes off its opening-round score. Samford swapped with the Bears and sits sixth, two strokes back at 615 after a 312 in the second round.

Western Carolina is in seventh at 627 despite posting an 11-shot improvement from day one to day two with Monday’s 308. Wofford rounds out the team standings at 643 after Monday’s 323.

The tournament concludes Tuesday with teams going off of holes 1 and 10 starting at 7:30 a.m. Live stats can be found on www.GolfStat.com.

2018 Southern Conference Men’s Golf Championship
Pinehurst No. 9
Par 72, 7,118 yards
Pinehurst, N.C.

Team results
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total
1 UNCG 297 285 582
T2 ETSU 292 302 594
T2 Chattanooga 290 304 594
4 Furman 301 294 595
5 Mercer 309 304 613
6 Samford 303 312 615
7 Western Carolina 319 308 627
8 Wofford 320 323 643

Individual leaders
Place Team Rd1 Rd2 Total
T1 Josh Stockwell, UNCG 74 69 143
T1 Nick Lyerly, UNCG 73 70 143
T1 Keller Harper, Furman 73 70 143
T1 Bryce Hendrix, UNCG 72 71 143
5 Dylan MacQueen, Western Carolina 73 72 145
T6 Shiso Go, ETSU 75 71 146
T6 Jack Rhea, ETSU 71 75 146
8 Harlan Winn, Samford 69 78 147
T9 Connor Bruns, Furman 75 73 148
T9 Lake Johnson, Chattanooga 74 74 148
T9 Geuntae Kim, ETSU 72 76 148
T9 Will Porter, Chattanooga 70 78 148

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