APSU Men’s Golf
San Diego, CA – A bad nine-hole stretch landed Austin Peay State University men’s golf team in fifth place after 36 holes at San Francisco’s Triumph at Pauma Valley, Monday.
“We played well the first round and we right in it,” head coach Kirk Kayden said. “Our third nine holes really nailed us. We were 16-over par through that stretch and it hurt us bad. We had some good performances over the first 18 holes and that third nine wiped it all away.”
In fact, the Govs were in second place after an opening-round 294, but a terrible second-round start dropped the Govs back into the pack. Freshman Trey Tarpley was the only Govs golfer to improve his back-nine score in the second round, with the other four players combining for 17 bogeys and four double bogeys.
When all was finished, however, the Govs are just six strokes out of second place with a two-round 601. Central Arkansas is the clubhouse leader with three players in the top 10 and a two-round 582, followed by host San Francisco at 595, Weber State at 596 and Longwood at 598; three shots in front of Austin Peay.
Freshman Marco Iten is t-15th (74-75) with a 149, 10 shots behind the tournament’s individual leader. Sophomore Dustin Korte (70-80) and freshman Anthony Bradley (75-75) are one shot behind Iten, t-21st with a pair of 150s. Tarpley (78-77), played two consistent rounds and is t-36th at 155, while senior Luke Sherrod’s second-round 83 has him trailing the team t-46th (75-83) with a 158.
“We almost had the complete day we’ve been looking for,” Kayden said. “Dustin had a 70 on the first 18, which is a good score. This is a tough golf course; it’s firm and the greens are not receptive. You have to hit it short and let it release towards the hole. We have to do a better job paying attention to that and managing this golf course.”
Final round play concludes with the Govs teeing off alongside Columbia and Longwood; the first group leaving at 7:40am, Tuesday.
“If we can have a good day, Tuesday, we can end up having a nice tournament,” Kayden said. “We need a good round tomorrow for a chance to be successful. Marco, Dustin and Anthony are only a few shots out of the top 10 right now, so that would be nice to see them finish up there.”
