SANDESTIN, Fla. – Rasmus Karlsson fired a 4-under-par 67 Monday to pace the University of South Alabama men's golf team on the second day of the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
The sophomore enters the last 18 holes of the event in seventh place in the individual standings with an even-par 142 total. Peter Staalbo carded a 75 and Yannick Schütz supplied a 76 for the Jags, who stand seventh in the team rankings with a two-round score of 593 following a group 298 total on the day.
Morgan Deneen of Coastal Carolina recorded an 8-under-par 63 to take over the individual lead with a 6-under-par 136 36-hole score, with his efforts helping the Chanticleers enter the final round of the tournament 17 shots in front of their nearest competitor with a team total of 1-over-par 569.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Sun Belt Conference Championship (Sun Belt Conference)
Date: 4/23
Course: Sandestin Golf Resort Raven Course (par 71, 6,879 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=15096
TEAM SCORES
1) Coastal Carolina 294-275—569 (+1); 2) Georgia Southern 298-288—586; 3) Texas State 296-291—587; 4) UTA 295-293—588; 5) ULM 300-289—589; 6) Troy 298-293—591; 7) South Alabama 295-298—593; 8) Appalachian State 300-298—598; T9) Louisiana 312-287—599; T9) Arkansas State 313-286—599; 11) Georgia State 305-295—600; 12) Little Rock 318-296—614.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Morgan Deneen, CCU 73-63—136 (-6); T2) Alvaro Carol Estrems, TXST 70-69—139; T2) Joao Girao, ULM 70-69—139; 4) Tripp Summerlin, APP 70-70—140; T5) Jake Storey, GS 71-70—141; T5) Tanner Napier, ASU 71-70—141; 7) Rasmus Karlsson, USA 75-67—142; 8) Thadd Obecny III, CCU 72-71—143; 9) Aaron Guanlao, UTA 72-72—144; T10) Connor Futrell, Troy 76-69—145; T10) Max Catherine, ULM 74-71—145.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
7) Rasmus Karlsson 75-67—142 (E); T20) Peter Staalbo 73-75—148; T24) Yannick Schütz 73-76—149; T46) Brooks Rabren 74-80—154; T53) Jason Mendel 76-80—156.
TEE SHOTS
-Of the 12 teams competing at the event, only the top four will qualify for the match-play semifinals on Wednesday.
-Karlsson is one of only seven individuals in a field of 60 at or below par through 36 holes after falling one shot shy of matching the low round of his career.
-It was the lowest round posted by Jag at the Sun Belt Championship since Marc-Etienne Bussieres carded a 67 on the final day of the tournament in 2009.
-Karlsson leads the Jaguars with seven birdies over the first two days of the tournament, with that total including five on the day; he carded three on the first five holes of his back nine Tuesday to play that side of the course at 3 under.
-It was the 10th time this year that Karlsson has shot par or better, tying him for the team lead in the category.
-Karlsson is one of three individuals tied for the lead in the field with a 2-under par total on par-four holes.
-Staalbo was just 1 over at the turn, adding a birdie on No. 14, while both of Schütz' birdies came on the back nine at the 10th and 14th holes.
-With three birdies after the turn Jason Mendel is second on the squad with six in the tournament as he played the back side of the course at 1 over.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On South's play in the second round of the tournament: "When we teed off the wind was down — which makes the golf course a little defenseless — so on the first four or five holes there was really a great opportunity to make some birdies. We got off to an average start with a couple of loose bogeys and didn't take advantage of the wind being down, and as me moved into the midway point of the front nine the wind picked up and was blowing and gusting very hard. The guys did hang in there and battled pretty well, unfortunately we closed poorly at the end and weren't able to pull one out."
On Rasmus Karlsson in the second round: "Rasmus started with a birdie on No. 1, he got off to a pretty good start and through five holes was 1 under par which was doable because the wind was down. When the wind picked up he continued to play some great golf, he got hot there on the back side making three birdies in five holes before closing out the round with four straight pars for a 67 that was a great round of golf today. He really kept us in it for tomorrow."
On the team's approach to the final day of the event: "You essentially have 10 schools battling it out for three spots, teams will go up and down the leaderboard. We need to get off to a decent start and have five guys in the game because coming down the stretch it will really be about the ability to compete and battle through the adversity. If the wind picks up — which it is supposed to — the golf course will again play very difficult, you just have to grind in those putts and execute shots when they are called for. It's a close leaderboard, even with today's play we have an opportunity tomorrow and hopefully — like a couple of years ago — we can get going and close well to get into one of those top four spots."
Up next: The final round of stroke play at the event begins Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. (CDT), with action starting on both Nos. 1 and 10.
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
Join the Birdie Club — the men's golf specific support club of the Jaguar Athletic Fund. All donations to the Birdie Club go directly to support the South Alabama men's golf program. For more information on how you can join visit: jaguarathleticfund.com/birdieclub.
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