By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – The Tennessee Tech men's golf team displayed some improvement while competing at the Peoples Golf Championship on Friday, moving up a spot in the rankings while completing round two of action at Sea Palms Resort in St. Simons Island, Ga.
The purple and gold passed Siena and climbed up to 19th on the leaderboard after producing a second round of 296, totaling 601 so far for the event. UNCG extended its monster lead at the top, moving to 21-under for the tournament with a round of 279 and a score of 547.
The team's 15-stroke lead can be largely attributed to the pair of Trojans tied for first among the 119-man field. Jake Lewis and Kelvin Hernandez each ranked at the top with scores of 9-under 133.
Pacing the purple and gold with the best round of the tournament by a Golden Eagle, Haden Maxwell jumped up to a tie for 60th after tallying an even-par 71. Piling up four birdies on the day, the junior finished round two with a two-day total of 147.
It was a three-way tie for the second straight day for the Tech squad, this time with Alex Broyles, Spencer Stuke, and Drew Bolton sharing the honors. Squared with scores of 152, Broyles showed the most movement up the leaderboard thanks to four birdies and a round of 75.
Stuke matched his first round of 76 with another 76 in the second trip around the course, displaying two birdies along the way. Competing as an individual, Bolton also carded his second straight 76, tallying two birdies of his own.
Rookie Hil Thompson locked down the second-best round of the day for the purple and gold, racking up 13 pars and a pair of birdies on his way to 74 for a composite score of 153. Just one shot back and rounding out the Tech lineup, sophomore Matthew Shull birdied three holes on the day for a score of 78 and a total of 154.
Saturday's third and final round will open with split tee times set to begin at 7:30 a.m. CT.
| Top 5 Teams: | ||||||
| 1. | UNCG | 268-279=547 | -21 | |||
| 2. | Villanova | 280-282=562 | -6 | |||
| 3. | Richmond | 278-287=565 | -3 | |||
| 4. | Drexel | 284-282=566 | -2 | |||
| T-5. | Mount St. Mary's | 281-287=568 | E | |||
| T-5. | Wright State | 282-286=568 | E | |||
| 19. | Tennessee Tech | 305-296=601 | +33 | |||
| Leaderboard (119 Golfers) | ||||||
| T-1. | Jake Lewis (UNCG) | 63-70=133 | -9 | |||
| T-1. | Kelvin Hernandez (UNCG) | 65-68=133 | -9 | |||
| T-60. | Haden Maxwell | 76-71=147 | +5 | |||
| T-95. | Alex Broyles | 77-75=152 | +10 | |||
| T-95. | Spencer Stuke | 76-76=152 | +10 | |||
| T-95. | Drew Bolton (I) | 76-76=152 | +10 | |||
| T-101. | Hil Thompson | 79-74=153 | +11 | |||
| T-108. | Matthew Shull | 76-78=154 | +12 | |||
| (I) - indicates competing as an individual | ||||||
File photo by Mark Elsner
