SANDESTIN, Fla. – Rasmus Karlsson fired a career-best 6-under-par 65 on Monday, leading a trio of University of South Alabama men's golfers who shot at or below par in the second of three rounds at the Sun Belt Conference Championship.
With a 7-under-par 135 total over 36 holes, the junior is tied for second in the individual standings entering the last day of the event. Jordan Plunkett also is among the top 20 individually following a second-round 68, while Yannick Schütz chipped in with a 71 to help the Jaguars record a 7-under-par 277 in the round.
With the performance, the Jags now sit tied for sixth in the team standings with ULM at 567, five shots out of fourth place and the final berth in Wednesday's match play semifinals. Arkansas State is the tournament leader after two rounds with a 13-under-par 555 group score, with Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern tied for second three strokes behind the Red Wolves. A-State's Luka Naglic held on to his advantage after the opening day, shooting a 4-under-par 67 for a 9-under-par 133 total heading into the last 18 holes.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
Event (host): Sun Belt Conference Championship (Sun Belt Conference)
Date: 4/22
Course: Sandestin Golf Resort Raven Course (par 71, 6,823 yds)
Live scoring: http://results.golfstat.com//public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=participants&tid=17936
TEAM SCORES
1) Arkansas State 281-274—555 (-13); T2) Coastal Carolina 278-280—558; T2) Georgia Southern 279-279—558; 4) Little Rock 278-284—562; 5) UTA 282-281—563; T6) South Alabama 290-277—567; T6) ULM 282-285—567; 8) Georgia State 282-286—568; T9) Louisiana 292-280—572; T9) Troy 289-283—572; 11) Texas State 282-295—577; 12) Appalachian State 294-303—597.
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
1) Luka Naglic, A-State 66-67—133 (-9); T2) Rasmus Karlsson, USA 70-65—135; T2) Zan Luka Stirn, A-State 69-66—135; 4) Steven Fisk, GS 75-61—136; 5) Aaron Ramos, LR 69-69—138; T6) Conner Futrell, Troy 72-67—139; T6) Wes Artac, CCU 67-72—139; T6) Paul Gonzalez, UTA 69-70—139; T6) Zack Taylor, CCU 71-68—139; T10) six individuals with 140.
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES
T2) Rasmus Karlsson 70-65—135 (-7); T17) Jordan Plunkett 74-68—142; T35) Yannick Schütz 74-71—145; T40) Peter Staalbo 72-74—146; T46) Kyle Robinson 74-73—147.
TEE SHOTS
-There are 60 players competing in the event this week.
-Karlsson's round — which featured nine birdies, including five on an eight-hole span after opening the day with a bogey at No. 10 — is the lowest 18-hole score on record in the postseason by a Jaguar dating back to the 1992-93 season.
-With the performance, the junior is now tied for the tournament lead with 13 birdies as he is top five in the field in scoring on par-three and par-five holes while standing among the top 10 on par fours as well.
-Plunkett also finished with the best round of his collegiate career after posting three birdies on his first six holes of the morning while playing the front side of the course at 1-under par.
-Schütz recorded two birdies and a pair of bogeys on his first eight holes, then parred in the rest of the way for his team-leading 13th round at or under par on the year.
-With 26 pars over the first two days, the two are tied for second in the field in the category.
-Kyle Robinson was 1 under on his final 16 holes of the round for a 73, one stroke lower than his opening-day score.
-The Jaguars are 8-under-par on par fives this week with three individuals — Karlsson, Schütz and Plunkett — among the top 20 in the field on those holes.
THEY SAID IT
Head coach Ben Hannan
On the team's second-round performance: "After yesterday's round it was obvious if they wanted to have a chance they had to put together a real nice round and have one of the low rounds of the day. Teeing off this morning the conditions were favorable to good scoring — like they were yesterday — and the guys took advantage of it, for the most part right out of the gate. As they made the turn they continued to play good golf, they've been executing pretty well and today started to make some putts coming in to post a strong finishing number on what one could argue is the harder closing side."
On the key to Rasmus Karlsson's play on the second day: "He made putts; he obviously hit a lot of nice, quality golf shots, but typically when you post those kind of numbers you make putts. He made putts from varying distances and took advantage of the opportunities he created with nice approach shots. It's a golf course that sets up well for him, he's comfortable here — he played well here last year — and had a fantastic round that kept us close and gives this team a chance tomorrow."
On the final round on Tuesday: "For us it's a no-lose mentality, we've got to go get it. Our approach is going to be fearless because theoretically we are on the outside looking in right now, we have nothing to protect so hopefully we'll get off to a good start to go get some people. As I've said from the start of the week, coming down to the end we want to have an opportunity and then at that point it's about staying in the present and competing, and relishing and enjoying the moment. I hope that this group has that opportunity tomorrow afternoon."
Up next: The final round of the stroke play portion of the competition will get underway on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. (CDT) from the first and 10th 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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