No. 18 Men's Golf Up 25 Strokes at Cleveland State Invitational
10/3/2016 7:35:00 PM | Men's Golf
AURORA, Ohio – The No. 18 Kent State men's golf team made a strong statement in the team's backyard Monday, finishing the first two rounds of the Cleveland State Invitational with the lead at 35-under par 541 (270-271). The tournament is being held up the road from Kent State at the par-72 Barrington Golf Club.
The round scores of 270 and 271 are now the second and third all-time best scores in program history, just behind last week's first round score at the Maui Jim Intercollegiate. The Golden Flashes fielded an A and B team in Aurora, giving everyone on the roster a chance to make their case for the spring lineup. While Kent State's A team leads the field by 25 strokes, The B team of individual competitors is holding its own and occupies two top-10 spots.
Kent State currently makes up half of the top-10 and seven of the top-15 golfers. Kent State's leader currently is Chase Johnson at 15-under par. He shot a 66 in the first round, but ended his day with the strongest round of his career. He shot a nine-under par 63, the second best round in program history and the best since Brett Cairns shot a record 62 in April of 2010.
Ian Holt was two strokes behind in second place, registering back-to-back 66's Monday. Holt had a team-best 15 birdies over 36 holes, without a bogey in the second round. Holt has now shot a 70 or better in six straight rounds, with three at 66 or lower.
Third among Golden Flashes but competing on the B squad was Spencer Dobbs at six-under par 168 in a tie for fifth place. He shot a 70 in the first round and improved to 68 in the second. One stroke behind him in a tie for eighth place are Gisli Sveinbergsson and Chris Doody. They shot identical scores of 68 in round one and 71 in round two.
Wrapping up counted scorers for the A team was Bjarki Petursson in a tie for 13th place at two-under par 142. He shot a 70 in the opening round and an even par 72 in the second. Josh Whalen capped off the top-15 at one-under par 143. He also logged a 70 in the first round and a 73 in the second.
Tyler McHugh is currently in the top-50 in a tie for 45th place at seven-over par 151. He shot an even par 72 to start the day and followed up with a round of 79. McHugh was followed by Nick Montes and Chase Parker. Montes enters the final round in a tie for 51st place at eight-over par 152, while Parker is in a tie for 58th at 10-over par 154.
Check back with KentStateSports.com Tuesday for final results from the Cleveland State Invitational.
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