STATESBORO – Georgia Southern followed up a strong first round with a 2-under 286 in the second round of the 45th playing of the Schenkel Invitational Friday at Forest Heights Country Club to hold onto the lead heading into the final round.
The Eagles sit in first place after two rounds, leading #12 Utah and #11 Florida by a stroke.
Florida's Luke Poulter backed up his first-round 67 to lead the way at -5. He holds a two-shot lead over four players.
Brycen Jones tallied seven birdies to lead the squad with a 69. Hogan Ingram's 70 put him and Jones in a tie for second place in the individual race. Thomas Horne shot an even-par 72 and Parker Claxton drained a long putt on 18 to save par and shoot a 73 (+1). Edouard Cereto carded his first eagle of the season to also shoot a 73. Pierce Adamson recorded his first collegiate eagle, as well.
Live scoring is available through GolfStat.
Eight participating teams are ranked in the top 100 nationally, according to the latest Clippd rankings. Army West Point, Campbell (#86), Florida (#11), Georgia Southern (#98), Indiana (#70), Kentucky (#89), Maryland, Middle Tennessee, Notre Dame (#38), UAB, Utah (#12), West Virginia (#94), Wisconsin and Yale make up the 14-team field.
Individually, five competitors are ranked in Clippd'd top 100 in Utah's Sergio Jimenez (#24) and Gabriel Palacios (#37), Notre Dame's Jacob Modleski (#18), Florida's Ian Gilligan (#19) and Jack Turner (#23).
The final round is slated to start at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. The trophy ceremony is expected to be at approximately 3 p.m. Admission is free, and spectators are welcome.
Scores
Team – 278-286 (-12), 1st
Brycen Jones (70-69, -5), T2nd
Hogan Ingram (69-70, -5), T2nd
Parker Claxton (69-73, -2), T11th
Thomas Horne* (72-72, E), T18th
Edouard Cereto* (71-73, E), T18th
Brantley Baker (70-76, +2), T30th
Pierce Adamson* (71-76, +3), T38th
Luke Koenig (74-74, +4), T42nd
Ian Glanton* (73-77, +6), T54th
Elijah Zamarron* (75-79, +10), T70th
*Playing as individual
Words from Coach Carter Collins
"Forest Heights showed some teeth today and the boys kept fighting; I'm really proud of the effort that it took to keep us in the mix. The Statesboro community showed up today in waves and really helped us. I can't wait for a Schenkel Sunday in Statesboro! Hail Southern!"
Next up
The Eagles are paired with #12 Utah and #11 Florida for tomorrow's final round and tee off the 1st hole at 10 a.m.
