University of Denver
Rounds 1 & 2
Men's Golf Eighth after 36 Holes
9/23/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
TEAM LEADERBOARD | INDIVIDUAL LEADERBOARD
DENVER - The University of Denver men's golf team was able to use a hot start and strong finish to close out opening-day play at the Tucker Invitational on Friday. The Pioneers finished in eighth after two-rounds on the UNM Championship Golf Course.
DU ended its day with a team score of 590 (298-292). The 292 was the lowest for any of team in the second round and also tied Denver's lowest round of the year despite windy conditions that came into play for the final 90 minutes of the round.
Par for the 7,555-yard course is 72.
San Diego State led all teams after day one, finishing with a 3-under-par 574 (280-293), eight shots up on runner-up Colorado State.
BYU's Rhett Rasmussen, the Rams' Blake Cannon and the Aztecs' PJ Samiere all sit atop the leaderboard at 4-under-par at the end of Friday.
The Pioneers went with the five-man lineup of Chris Korte, Jake Kelley, Petter Mikalsen, Isaac Petersilie and Eric Hagen.
"After the morning round, I was extremely proud of freshman Eric Hagen, " head coach Erik Billinger said. "His 2-under-par round of 70 was in the top 10 and was very impressive."
Kelly led the DU attack, finishing tied for 14th after firing a 2-over-par 146 (73-73).
"The afternoon round brought some of the toughest weather conditions that I have seen in a while," Billinger said about second-round play. "Our team showed a ton of heart by posting the low round of the afternoon in such a high-quality field. We beat a lot of really good teams this afternoon and this should be a big confidence boost for us going forward.
"The conditions were really challenging and we embraced that challenge," Billinger added. "Tomorrow is the key as the course will be lengthened and the pins will be tucked. I'm looking forward to it."
Korte and Hagen each closed out their first two rounds tied for 23rd with scores of 148, 4-over-par. Korte really got it going in the second round, shooting a 1-under 71.
Mikalsen shook off a rough first 18 holes to deliver when Denver needed it in the second round, posting a 1-under-par 71 on the scorecard to bring his two-round total to 151 (80-71).
Petersilie ended tied for 70th with a two-round score of 155.
Play wraps up tomorrow with tee times again beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Live scoring can be found right HERE.
JOIN THE PIONEER NATION
Like Denver PioneersandDU Men's Golfon Facebook
Follow @DU_Pioneersand @DU_MGolfon Twitter
