Mercer Extends Lead at Golfweek Fall Challenge

Monday, September 13

Pawleys Island, S.C.

All Day (18 Holes)

Mercer University

Golfweek Fall Challenge

Photo by: Jen Jones

Mercer Extends Lead at Golfweek Fall Challenge

9/13/2021 4:21:00 PM | Men's Golf

The Bears finished 14 strokes under par in the second round.

PAWLEY'S ISLAND, S.C. – The Mercer men's golf team extended its lead to 17 strokes after shooting 14-under par as a team in the second round of the Golfweek Fall Challenge.

Mercer is now 29-under par for the tournament. Delaware (-12), Temple (-11), Jacksonville State (-9) and Tennessee Tech (-9) round out the top five.

"We had another great team effort today," remarked head coach Jason Payne. "All five guys played excellent golf and came in under par. That's an outstanding team round, and we are in a good position heading into the final round tomorrow."

Martin Plukka (-10) sits in second place after carding a 67 for the second consecutive day. His teammate, Tobias Jonsson, is also tied for second. The pair sits one stroke behind Wofford Harry Jones

Jonsson and Jay Spivey both put together a solid round of golf, shooting a 67 and ending the day five strokes under par. After carding an identical score on Sunday, Jonsson began Monday's round with three birdies over the first five holes before shooting par on the sixth and seventh holes. He made up for an unfortunate bogey on the eighth hole with an eagle on No. 9 and carried the momentum onto the back nine with a birdie on the 10^th hole before shooting par on four consecutive holes. Johnsson shot 1-under on the back nine to bring his total for the round to a 5-under.

Spivey also shot 5-under in the second round and improved to fourth overall on the leaderboard, at 9-under. He had a stellar round on the front nine, with back-to-back birdies to open the round followed by an eagle on the fourth hole. After concluding the front nine by carding even par on the last five holes, he began the back nine with consecutive birdies. Despite two bogies on the back nine, the Macon, Ga., native finished one stroke below par on the nine-hole section to card an impressive 67 overall.

Jonathan Parker and Trey Mixon also shot under par in the round. Parker was 1-under on the front nine and carded even par on the back nine to shoot a 71 for the day. He sits tied for 30^th with even par after 36 holes. Mixon rebounded on day two after carding a 75 on Sunday. He battled back from a bogey on the first hole with birdies on three of the final five holes to finish the front nine one stroke under par. Mixon was consistent on the back nine, shooting par on seven of the nine holes with a birdie on 14 and bogey on 17.

Mercer Scorecard

1	Mercer	273	274	--	-29	547
T2	Martin Plukka	65	69	--	-10	134
T2	Tobias Jonsson	67	67	--	-10	134
T4	Jay Spivey	68	67	--	-9	135
T30	Jonathan Parker	73	71	--	E	144
T42	Trey Mixon	75	71	--	+2	146

Mercer will conclude play at the Golfweek Fall Challenge on Tuesday and try to bring home its first trophy in Payne's second stint as head coach. Mercer will be paired with the Delaware Blue Hens and Temple Owls on the first tee box. Mixon will tee off at 9:15 a.m. followed by Parker (9:24), Spivey (9:33), Plukka (9:42) and Jonsson (9:51).

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Men's Golf, please follow the Bears on social media at @MercerGolf (Twitter) and @MercerBears (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.