Date Posted: 4/22/2008

BRASELTON, Ga – Led by the play of senior Gareth Shaw, ETSU, overcame an eight-shot deficit after day one to grab a slim one-shot lead at the conclusion of the second round of the 2008 Atlantic Sun Men’s Golf Championship from the Woodlands Course at the Chateau Elan Golf Club.

Shaw’s 67 helped him pass first-round leader, Gardner-Webb’s Blake Palmer, who struggled to a 6-over 77. Shaw will enter the final day four shots in front of his closest competitor, Kennesaw State’s Oliver West, who shot a 3-under 68 for a two-day total of 2-under 140. After pars are the opening four holes, Shaw birdied the short par-4 fifth and eagled the par-5 eighth holes to go out in 2-under 34. He played bogey-free golf on the back nine, including a birdie at the 18th hole.

“It’s the first time I’ve been in the lead in college,” Shaw said. “Hopefully I can handle it well. I know what I have to do, the course is there for the taking. So far I’ve been very consistent. I’ve only had two bogies in the event and I’ve kept most of the putts inside of six feet. I kept the ball in play and hit the ball solid. I didn’t hit it the best I can, but I hit it solid and didn’t hit very many bad shots.”

The Buccaneers improved by five shots from Monday’s 292 total for a two-round score of 11-over 579. Freshman Rhys Enoch shot an even-par 71 to remain in third place with a two-day total of 1-under 141. Senior Cian McNamara matched Enoch’s 71.

“We are happy being ahead,” Enoch said. “Being the highest ranked team, we think if we keep playing as we have been we’ll come out on top in the end.”

UNF moved into second place after equaling ETSU’s team score of 287 to trail the Buccaneers by a single stroke. All four of the scoring Ospreys recorded scored scores within four shots of each other, led by Jeff Dennis’ 2-under 69. The Ospreys have four players among the top 10, led by Chris Kennedy, who sits in a four-way tie with sixth at 3-over 145. Dennis, Jordan Gibb and Michael O’Neal make up three of the five golfers tied for tenth at 4-over 146. The Ospreys have finished second in the Atlantic Sun Men’s Golf Conference Championship in each of the three previous years.

Kennesaw State moved up from fifth to third on the heels of shooting the best team score of the day, a 1-over 285, led by West, who shot his 68 despite a double bogey on the 18th hole. Like Shaw, West eagled the par-5 eighth hole; he also recorded four birdies on the final nine holes. His teammate, Wesley Sheard also carded a sub-par round, shooting a 1-under 70 moving from a tie for 12th to fifth place at 2-over 144, eight back of Shaw.

“I didn’t have a good warmup session today, which happened the last time I had a good round,” West said. “I holed a lot of good putts today I missed yesterday.”

Campbell and first-day leader Gardner-Webb round out the tightly-bunched top half of the leaderboard. The Camels sit seven back of the Buccaneers while the Runnin’ Bulldogs trail by 10 strokes. Further back, Stetson sits in sixth at 38-over 606, one shot ahead of Belmont, five clear of Mercer and 10 ahead of Lipscomb. Jacksonville rounds out the field with a two-day total of 55-over 623.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is a 12-member league committed to Building Winners for Life, with a focus on academic and athletic integrity and a balance between the two for the student-athlete, and maintaining a high level of sportsmanship. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun encompasses six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun consists of some of the most dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Gardner-Webb University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.

Related Links:
 • A-Sun Championship Coverage