By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala. – Consistency was the name of the game for the Tennessee Tech men's golf team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles concluded their second round of play at the Ohio Valley Conference Championships in third place after their second straight team score of 290.
All five Tech participants fired off rounds of plus two or better, with junior Mitch Thomas leading the way on the day with a two-under 70. The Knoxville native shaved five strokes off his first-day score to finish his first two rounds at a 145 and in a tie for 10th place overall.
Fellow junior Bryce Kendrick also improved from the first day to the second, trimming one stroke off his first round performance to finish the second 18 holes of the event with a 72 and even to par. Combined with his first-round 73, he tied Thomas for the team lead through two rounds at 145 and tied for 10th place.
Seniors Lee Whitehead and Mason Griffin continued to play copycat with each other, as each player carded second-round 74s. Tying for the team lead with Griffin on day one with a 72, Whitehead, the wiley veteran of the squad, tied for 13th with his teammate through two rounds. Both seniors finished with scores of 146 through the first 36 holes of play.
Rounding out the competitors for the Golden Eagles was freshman Alexander Riddle. Participating in his first career OVC Championship, the youngster fired off a two-over 74 in the second round, just one stroke over his first-round score of 73. He finished the day at 147 through both rounds and tied for 22nd overall.
The Golden Eagles found themselves just five strokes back of tournament leader Eastern Kentucky, which went berserk on Saturday with a 280. Only Tech and EKU could boast all five golfers in the top 25 in the 11-team field. Austin Peay also enjoyed a resurgent day, finishing in second and just three strokes ahead of the Tech squad.
The OVC Men's Golf Championship will conclude with 18 holes of third round action on Sunday. The action starts at 8:00 a.m. CT and live scoring can be accessed through links at OVCSports.com.
Photo by the Ohio Valley Conference
