Saturday, May 22, 2010

ETSU's Rhys Enoch took over the individual lead at the East Regional while UNF's Kevin Phelan shares third at the South Central Region and Kennesaw State's Jeff Karlsson moved up to 18th at the Southeast Regional.

ETSU- East Regional - The Course at Yale - New Haven, Conn.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Rhys Enoch posted his second-straight sub-70 round with a 2-under-par 68 and took the individual lead Friday during second round play in the NCAA East Regional at The Course at Yale.

Enoch’s efforts overshadowed an otherwise tough day for the Bucs, who dropped to a tie for sixth on the team leaderboard at 6-over 566, but are still very much in the hunt for a spot in the all-important Top 5 which would result in a berth to the NCAA Championships. Individually, Enoch stands at 7-under 133 for the event and leads Penn State’s Kevin Foley by one shot.

Read the Golfweek.com Column on Rhys Enoch HERE.

“Rhys really played well again today,” said ETSU head coach Fred Warren. “While he shot 68, the rest of our guys struggled a bit but we still muddled through and have a shot to finish in the Top 5. It’s going to be a shootout tomorrow with 10 schools within two shots of the cut. We go out first in the morning at 7:30, so we need to shoot a good round and then see if it will be enough.”

While Enoch is at 7-under 133, the rest of the Bucs have struggled and combined to post a 13-over-par score of 433. On the team leaderboard, the Bucs are 11 strokes back of first place Texas (5-under 555), and just six strokes back of third place Penn State.

UNF - South Central Regional - Traditions Club Golf Course - Bryan, Texas

BRYAN, Texas - The University of North Florida golf team is tied for sixth with a 2-over, 578 (280-298) following the second round of the 2010 NCAA South Central Men’s Golf Regional at Texas A&M’s Traditions Club Golf Course in Bryan, Texas.

Freshman Kevin Phelan is tied for third after shooting an even par, 72 in the second round. He has a 6-under, 138 in two rounds. Wichita State’s Dustin Garza and Texas A&M’s Ignacio Elvira lead the field with 8-under, 136’s.

UNF shot a 10-over, 298 on the second day of competition and sits four strokes behind fifth place Pepperdine with 2-under, 574 (286-288). The Ospreys are 13 strokes behind tournament leader No. 2 Texas A&M and 12 strokes behind second place No. 10/13 Texas Tech. The Aggies have an 11-under, 564 while the Red Raiders have a 10-under, 566. No. 25/21 TCU and Wichita State are third and fourth, respectively.

Jeff Karlsson, Kennesaw State - Southeast Regional - Crabapple Club - Alpharetta, Ga.

ALPHARETTA, Ga. – Kennesaw State sophomore Jeff Karlsson rebounded from a tough finish on Thursday with a strong one on Friday, firing a 33 on his second nine holes to card a 2-under par 68 for the round at the NCAA Men’s Golf Southeast Regional. He enters the final round in a tie for 18th place at four-over par.

The Gothenburg, Sweden, native, who is known for his length off the tee, took advantage of the wet conditions at the Crabapple Club in Alpharetta, Ga., which already was playing long at 7,182 yards. Of his four birdies on the day, two of them came on the pair of par-5 holes on the par-70 layout, with the other two coming on lengthy par 4’s.

Karlsson, who played the back nine first on Friday, was originally slated to begin his round at 9:30 a.m., but did not end up hitting his opening tee shot until 10:50 due to rainy weather. He shot an even-par 35 on his first nine, with one birdie and a bogey canceling each other out, and was 1-under for the day through 15 holes when Mother Nature struck again and delayed play another hour. Unfazed, he returned to the golf course a few minutes after five o’clock on Friday afternoon and played his last three holes in 1-under par.

His two rounds of 75-68 put him at four-over par and in a tie for 18th, seven shots behind individual leader Robbie Fillmore of Brigham Young, who enters Saturday play at three-under par. In order for Karlsson to qualify for the NCAA National Championship, he will have to be the top-finisher among those who do not qualify for nationals with a team. Among those who fit that criteria after 36 holes, he is in ninth place, six shots behind Georgia Southern’s Logan Blondell.