Men's Golf Finishes Second at Golfweek Program Challenge

Tuesday, September 8

Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Mercer University

Golfweek Program Challenge

Men's Golf Finishes Second at Golfweek Program Challenge

9/8/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Mercer University men's golf team finished in a tie for second place at the Golfweek Program Challenge, after another outstanding round on Tuesday. The Bears improved their score for the third straight round, carding a 13-under-par 275 on the final day of the event.

MERCER LINEUP RESULTS

NAME	TODAY'S ROUND	TOTAL SCORE	PLACE
Jerry Ren	71 (-1)	208 (-8)	T-8th
Sean Smothers	67 (-5)	209 (-7)	T-10th
Dylan Deogun	70 (-2)	209 (-7)	T-10th
Timmy Hanzelko	67 (-5)	216 (E)	T27th
Jeffrey Heinicka, Jr.	74 (+2)	223 (+7)	T-63rd

MERCER SPOTLIGHT
Sean Smothers had another incredible round for the Bears, matching a career-best effort with his second straight 5-under 67. The junior birdied each of his first two holes and never looked back, climbing six spots on the individual leaderboard to notch his fourth career top-10 finish with a total tally of 209 (-7).

STREAK OF THE DAY
Redshirt freshman Timmy Hanzelko caught fire in the middle of his final round, notching five birdies during a 10-hole stretch to card a 5-under 67. Hanzelko led all players with a 36-spot climb on Tuesday, finishing in a tie for 27th with an even-par 216.

THE BEARS IN THE TEAM STANDINGS
Mercer closed the gap on team champion Jacksonville, cutting the deficit in half with the team's 275 on Tuesday. James Madison worked its way into a tie with the Bears thanks to the best round of the tournament, a 20-under 268.

COACH KAYDEN'S TAKE
"The guys had another great round of golf and made up a lot of shots on Jacksonville to cut their lead in half. Hats off to them for a great tournament, but I'm really proud of the way our guys fought back over the past two days."

"Tim, a redshirt freshman, in his first collegiate event had an incredible round in the final pairing, which is something that he can really build on. Sean had another great effort to help us put three guys in the top-10 with our two young guys, Dylan and Jerry, leading the way all tournament. There are a lot of positives to start the year and we're looking forward to heading up to Ohio in a couple weeks to battle several Big 10 programs at a great event."

MERCER NOTABLES

Mercer had three players record top-10 finishes for the first time since the 2013 Brickyard Collegiate, when Emmanuel Kountakis and Hans Reimers tied for medalist honors while Sean Smothers finished ninth.
Sophomore Jerry Ren matched the best finish of his career on the strength of the program's top three-round score (208) since James Beale fired a 206 at the 2014 USF Invitational.
Mercer freshman Dylan Deogun had the program's best collegiate debut in recent memory, finishing in a tie for 10th place thanks to three straight under-par rounds.