Mercer University
John Hayt Intercollegiate
Men's Golf Climbs Standings at John Hayt Collegiate Invitational
2/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Mercer men's golf team shot 303 in the second round of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Monday, moving into a tie for ninth place among the 15-team field. Mercer's round two score outpaced four teams ranked in Golfstat's top-50, including No. 2 Florida (304), No. 36 Tulsa (308), No. 38 TCU (304) and No. 43 North Florida (309).
"The conditions for scoring were extremely difficult out there today," head coach Andrew Tredway said. "The wind really kicked up about five holes in and we took advantage of it early."
Entering Tuesday's final round, Mercer is even with Coastal Carolina, just four strokes behind Mississippi and seven strokes off the pace of seventh-place Florida.
No. 13 Auburn leads the tournament with a two-day total of 577. The top-five slots in the team rankings feature a log-jam of the nation's top programs. No. 20 Arkansas, No. 7 LSU and No. 46 Tennessee are all tied for 2nd place while No. 29 UCF and No. 38 TCU are tied for fifth.
"I'm really proud of the way the guys played today," Tredway said. "It was a fighters golf course; just a complete grind, so they fought hard to the end."
Both junior John Gregory Joseph and sophomore Matt Kocolowski posted team-low 74's on Monday, aiding the team's jump into the top-10 after finishing the first round in 13th place.
Joseph's 74 combined with a first round 73 and has the golfer tied for 20th place individually. Joseph's teammate, Hans Reimers, backed up an opening round 70 with a 77 on Monday and is also tied for 20th place individually.
Kocolowski started Monday with back-to-back birdies and ultimately finished the round with four sub-par holes. Kocolowski's 74 was a three-shot improvement on his Sunday total, moving him into a four-way tie for 45th place overall.
Junior Josh Cone and freshman James Beale each carded 78's in the second round and are tied for 53rd and 58th place, respectively.
"Tomorrow it's really important for our guys to check their directional wind and be decisive in the type of shot they want to play," Tredway said.
In Tuesday's final round of competition, Mercer is paired with Florida and Mississippi. Beale is slated to be the first Mercer golfer out on the course, teeing off at 8 a.m.
Players Mentioned
