Men's Golf In Third After Round Two in Tennessee
10/14/2017 6:32:00 PM | Men's Golf
JONESBOROUGH, Tenn. – No. 17 Kent State University men's golf team will enter the final round of the Bank of Tennessee at Blackthorn in a tie for third place after a strong performance in round two Saturday.
The Golden Flashes improved by seven strokes Saturday, carding a 12-under par score of 276. Overall, Kent State is tied with Louisville at 17-under par in third place, one stroke behind No. 7 Missouri in second place. Penn State leads the field at 27-under par.
"We played very, very well, but hats off again to Penn State. They are really on a roll right now and playing great golf," said Kent State head coach Herb Page. "I'm very proud of the way our team played in the second round, and we were able to move up the leaderboard and put ourselves into that final group with Penn State."
Leading the Flashes for the second straight day was senior Chase Johnson, who is in a tie for seventh place overall. Johnson repeated his first round score of 4-under par 68. He finished the round with four birdies, including three straight from holes 11-13. Johnson enters the final round at 8-under par 136, four strokes off the overall lead.
Freshman Josh Gilkison also continued his strong play competing as an individual, finishing his day in a tie for 14th overall at 4-under par 140. Gilkison shot a career-best round of 7-under par 65, one stroke off the lowest round ever by a freshman, set by Tommy Wiegand in 2005. Gilkison becomes the fourth freshman in program history to register a 65 or better. He carded five birdies overall and eagled the 14th hole.
Returning to the lineup, Chris Doody enters the final round tied for 18th at 3-under par 141. He shot a 3-under par 69 Saturday with five birdies. One stroke back from Doody is junior Bjarki Petursson in a tie for 22nd. He shot an even par 72 in the second round.
Ian Holt had the biggest turnaround of anyone in the Kent State lineup, improving by 11 strokes Saturday. His second round score of 5-under par 67 moved him up to a tie for 39th at 1-over par 145. Holt went on a run of four straight birdies on the back nine. Wrapping up the lineup is Gisli Sveinbergsson, who recorded his second straight 73. He enters Sunday in a tie for 47th at 2-over par 146.
Check back with KentStateSports.com Sunday for final results.
Players Mentioned
