The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Fires 2-Under Team Score, Second Overall at the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate
October 24 | Men's Golf
Powells Point, N.C. – The Akron Zips men's golf team finished the second round of the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate at 2-under par, but fell to second overall as Ball State climbed the leaderboard with a tournament-low 7-under 277 team score. After two rounds of play at Kilmarlic Golf Club, the Zips trail the Cardinals by three strokes, 558 (-10) to 561 (-7).
In addition, the BSU's Keegan McKinney fired a 67 (-4) to claim sole possession as top individual with a 136 (-6) two-round total, while Akron senior J.B. Williams (Danville, Ky.) posted a 70 (-1), trailing the leader by one stroke heading into Wednesday's final round.
"Today was a grind, and I'm proud of our team effort" Zips' head coach David Trainor said. "We started slow and made some early bogeys, but rebounded great on the back-9."
For the second time this season, Akron fired back-to-back under-par team performances, led by Williams' 67 (-4) and 70 (-1) for a 137 (-5) two-round total. Williams opened second round play with a par, but carded a double bogey on the round's second hole. He continued to play par golf through the front-9, taking a 37 (+2) score into the back. After extending the par streak to nine consecutive holes, Williams began to score, firing three consecutive birdies on holes 12-14 to move back into contention for top individual honors with a 1-under par scorecard. Williams finished the final four holes even to remain 1-under par with a 70.
During the second round, junior George Baylis (Ascot, England) matched Williams' 1-under par 70 performance, bringing his two-round total to 69-70 – 139 (- 3). Baylis started the day with back-to-back bogeys, but mixed in a pair of pars and a birdie before falling back two more strokes. He finished the initial nine holes 3-over par with 38 strokes, but used four consecutive birdies on holes 13-16 to finish the back-9 at 4-under par with 32 strokes.
Akron's low-scorer of the round was senior Yann Pfeiffer (Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France). Pfeiffer followed a 73 (+2) opening round performance with a 2-under par 69 score for an even-par 142 tournament total. He collected six pars, two birdies and a double bogey for an even 35 score on the front and added seven pars and two birdies on the back for the 2-under finish.
Rounding out the Zips' scoring were sophomore Elliott Grayson (Shelby, N.C.) and senior Zach Gollwitzer (Baldwin, Mo.). Grayson is currentl 1-over par for the tournament with a 143 total after a 2-over 73 second round effort, while Gollwitzer is at 159 (+17) on rounds of 79 (+8) and 80 (+9), respectively.
Tuesday's final round is scheduled to begin with split tee times from holes No. 1 and 10 at 8:00 a.m. Akron is slated to start the final round on the front tee box at 8 a.m. – Gollwitzer 8 a.m., Grayson 8:09 a.m., Pfeiffer 8:18 a.m., Baylis 8:27 a.m., and Williams 8:36 a.m.
Fans can follow the action live with BirdieFire live scoring.
Top Teams
1. Ball State 281-277 – 558 (-10); 2. Akron 279-282 – 561 (-7); 3. Old Dominion 282-283 – 565 (-3); 4. Campbell 288-282 – 570 (+2) 4. UNCW 283-289 – 572 (-1)
Top Individuals
1. Keegan McKinney, Ball State, 69-67 –136 (-6); T2. J.B. Williams, Akron, 67-70 – 137 (-5); T2. David Langley, Old Dominion, 70-67 – 137 (-5); T4. Kevin Gordon, Nebraska-Omaha, 70-68 – 138 (-4); T4. Patrick Cover, UNCW, 70-68 – 138 (-4); T4. Timothy Wiseman, Ball State, 69-69 – 138 (-4)
Players Mentioned
