KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Following a 1-over-par 73 in the second of three rounds on Tuesday at the NCAA Kissimmee Regional, University of South Alabama men's golfer Yannick Schütz has an even-par 144 total.

He ended the day in a tie for 34th, with his score over 36 holes second among the five individuals competing at the event.  A trio of competitors — Kyler Tate of host Central Florida, Florida's Andy Zhang and Austin Hitt of North Carolina — are at the top of the individual standings with an 8-under-par 136 total heading in Wednesday's final round, which will tee off at 6:30 a.m. (CDT).

The Gators, ranked eighth in the country and the No. 2 seed entering play, fired a 13-under-par 275 in the second round, and with a 25-under-par 551 total will enter the last day of the tournament with a five-shot advantage over the Golden Knights.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): NCAA Kissimmee Regional (Central Florida)
Date: 5/15
Course: Reunion Resort Watson Course (par 72, 7,154 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=pairings&tid=15136

TEAM SCORES
1) Florida 276-275—551 (-25); 2) Central Florida 276-280—556; 3) Kent State 280-280—560; 4) South Florida 282-281—563; T5) Vanderbilt 283-282—565; T5) North Carolina 283-282—565; T5) Colorado State 288-277—565; 8) Arizona 284-287—571; 9) Purdue 288-285—573; 10) Coastal Carolina 290-288—578; 11) Jacksonville State 286-293—579; 12) Saint Mary's (Calif.) 289-292—581; 13) Georgetown 297-290—587; 14) Central Connecticut State 303-294—597.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
T1) Kyler Tate, UCF 71-65—136 (-8); T1) Andy Zhang, UF 68-68—136; T1) Austin Hitt, UNC 68-68—136; T4) Ian Holt, KSU 68-69—137; T4) John Axelsen, UF 69-68—137; T6) George Cunningham, UofA 67-72—139; T6) Chase Johnson, KSU 67-72—139; T6) Juuso Kahlos, UCF 67-72—139; T6) Patrick Martin, VU 69-70—139; T6) Jake Staiano, CSU 71-68—139; T6) Gisli Sveinbergsson, KSU 71-68—139.

SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T34) Yannick Schütz 71-73—144 (E).

TEE SHOTS
-The top five teams and highest-finishing individual not from one of those programs at the end of 54 holes will advance to NCAA Championship.
-For the second straight day Schütz carded birdies at Nos. 1 and 7, making the turn at 2 under.
-His final birdie of the round came on the 525-yard par-five 14th hole.
-It's the fourth time this spring that Schütz will enter the final day of a tournament at or under par, and the first since Kansas State's BIGHORN Invitational March 23-24.
-With eight birdies over two days Schütz is among the top 15 in a field of 75 individuals in the category, while he stands in the top 10 with a 5 under score on par-five holes.

THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On Schütz' performance in the second round of the event: "Yannick got off to another solid start birdying the first, he really played in complete control on the front nine; he had a lot of opportunities and made a couple of birdies with easy par saves in between to turn in 34.  On the 10th hole he was on a bit of a downslope in the fairway hitting to a back pin and hit a very good golf shot that came out a little bit lower than anticipated, the wind didn't bank it like he saw it and it went over the green into a very difficult situation.  He hit a poor chip from there to make a six, but he picked right back up and hit some good shots coming in.  But the wind was blowing on the back — it was just hard to get the ball close — and he hung in there the best he could."
On the approach to the final round of the regional: "Yannick has to keep doing what he does, and hopefully tomorrow execute for all 18 holes.  Mentally he's been very strong, his putter from inside 10-15 feet has been excellent and he is driving the ball well.  He's doing a lot of things well, which gives him the opportunity to shoot a low score.  If his scoring clubs get a little more dialed in, he could put together a really nice final round to close out the regional."

Up next: Final-round action gets underway Wednesday at 6:30 a.m. (CDT) from split tees.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. 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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