By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MAINEVILLE, Ohio – After an opening round of action at the Xavier Invitational, the Tennessee Tech men's golf team found itself in contention for yet another tournament title Monday, competing at TPC River's Bend in Maineville, Ohio.
The Golden Eagles fired a 1-over 289 to open the day, tying for second among the 12 teams in contention with Bowling Green. Wright State led the way with a 279. Playing the first nine holes of the second round before the end of the day, Tech moved into sole possession of second place while sitting at 1-under.
Following the opening round of play, reining Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week and of the Month Jackson Skeen led the field of 72 golfers with a career-low-tying 66. The sophomore ripped off seven birdies in the round. With nine holes to play in round two, he sat in a tie for 13th at even par after starting the second round with a 6-over.
Finishing second for Tech after round one, Haden Maxwell moved up the leaderboard from a tie for 20th to a tie for ninth. The rookie turned in five birdies for a 1-over 73 to kick off the day and followed it with three more over the opening nine of the second round to finish at 2-under headed into Tuesday.
Tying for 34th were veterans Chance Taylor and Mark McDearman, each delivering first-round scores of 75. The senior Taylor tallied two birdies in the opener and followed it with two more to open the second round to move up to a tie for 26th. McDearman birdie once in his first trip around the links and followed it with another birdie over the next nine holes to tie for 42nd.
Freshman Anders Larson rounded out the group for the purple and gold, tying for 68th after the first round with an 84 behind two birdies. The youngster improved over the next nine holes, jumping up into a tie for 65th with a birdie and even-par slate.
The second half of round two is slated to begin with split tee times starting at 8:00 a.m. CT Tuesday morning. The third and final round will follow after the conclusion of the second.
| Top 5 Teams: | ||||||
| 1. | Wright State | 279 | -9 | |||
| T-2. | Tennessee Tech | 289 | +1 | |||
| T-2. | Bowling Green | 289 | +1 | |||
| 4. | Oakland | 294 | +6 | |||
| 5. | WKU | 297 | +9 | |||
| Leaderboard (72 Golfers) | ||||||
| 1. | Jackson Skeen | 66 | -6 | |||
| T-20. | Haden Maxwell | 73 | +1 | |||
| T-34. | Mark McDearman | 75 | +3 | |||
| T-34. | Chance Taylor | 75 | +3 | |||
| T-68. | Anders Larson | 84 | +12 | |||
File photo by Emily Armstrong