Toledo Golf Leads After Two Rounds At Sage Run
STORY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF TOLEDO
Senior NJ Botha fired a seven-under 137 (68-69) to help the Toledo men's golf team sit atop the leaderboard after the first 36 holes of the Island Resort Intercollegiate. The tournament is the Rockets' first of their 2022-23 campaign and is being played at the par-72, 7,375-yard Sage Run Golf Course.
Botha's red-hot play helped Toledo post under par scores in each round en route to a team score of nine-under par 567 (281-286). The George, South Africa native holds a one-shot lead in the individual standings after notching two eagles and eight birdies during his two rounds. Botha's four-under 68 in the opening round was one shy of his collegiate best.
Junior Barend Botha, NJ's brother, is tied for seventh place at three-under par 141 after leading the tourney field with 28 pars. He also carded an eagle and four birdies.
Senior Palmer Yenrick (72-74) and junior Jamie Tofte Nielsen (73-73) are tied for 24th place at two-over par 146. Senior Michael Terblanche is tied for 39th at five-over par 149 after carding a two-under 70 in his first round as a Rocket.
Freshman Bence Kotel is competing as an individual and is tied for 13th place at one-under par 143 (70-73) in his collegiate debut.
The Rockets' tee times in tomorrow's final round will begin at 9:10 am. Toledo will be playing with second-place Illinois State (572) and third-place Michigan (573).
STORY FROM ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY
Behind a career-low 66 in the second round from Valentin Peugnet, the Illinois State Redbirds stand in second place in a strong field at the Island Resort Intercollegiate, including sitting ahead of both Michigan and Kentucky in the 13-school field.
The Redbirds' two rounds of 287 and 285 have them as one of just two schools to be under par in each of the opening two rounds. The combined 572 has them five strokes behind tournament leader Toledo, and ahead of Michigan (573), Kentucky (577), Miami-Ohio (578), North Dakota State (578), Valparaiso (583), Southern Illinois (586), South Dakota State (597), Kentucky's B squad (600), Bowling Green (602), Green Bay (623), and Northern Michigan (646).
The strong start of a 572 is the third time in the last five seasons that the Redbirds have kicked off the season in a big way, as the team had a two-round 571 at the Badger Invitational during the 2019-20 season, and a 572 (287, 285) at the 2018-19 Badger Invitational – eventually taking the team crown in the latter of the two.
Five different Redbirds sit in the top-25 individually in the field, led by Peugnet's six-under score of 138, which has him in second place individually, one stroke off the lead. Will Troy is tied for 15th with a 144 (even par), while Felix van Dijk and Alex McCulla have matching 145's (+1). Playing in his first collegiate tournament and playing as an individual is freshman Pietro Pontiggia, who stands tied for 24th with a 146 (+2). Parker Wisdom carded rounds of 76 and 74 to tie for 46th individually.
Peugnet started his day with two bogeys and five pars, sitting at two strokes over par through seven holes. Over his final 29 holes of the day; however, he was stellar with nine birdies, 19 pars and a bogey, including two birdies on his first round to reach the halfway point of the day at even par. A bogey to open his second 18 holes was his only above-par score in the round, as he got back to even par on the fourth hole, and went under par for the round with another birdie on the ninth hole. His back nine of the day he had five birdies and a par to finish his day with a career-low 66.
Troy tied his career-low with his second-round 71, as he closed his day with an eagle on the par-five 18th hole. His day started with a birdie on the opening hole, and another birdie on the eighth hole to drop to two strokes under par. A stretch of three bogeys over a four hole span at the turn pushed him back over par until a birdie on the 15th hole dropped him back to even.
He closed his round with a bogey on the 18th hole to take a one-over 73 into the turn between rounds. After opening the second round with three straight pars he had back-to-back bogeys, which was followed with three consecutive birdies, making the turn to the final nine holes at one stroke under par. Two more bogeys in the final nine holes had him at one shot over par until his end-of-day eagle gave him his 71.
van Dijk and McCulla each shot matching 145's, each with a one-under 71 in the opening round and a three-over 74 for the second round. van Dijk had four bogeys and three pars over his opening round, with three birdies and five bogeys over his final 18 holes. McCulla opened his day with a bogey on the first hole, before coming back with seven straight pars followed by an eagle on the par-five ninth hole. His back nine had two birdies and two bogeys to close the round with a one-under 71. His second 18 holes opened with another bogey followed by a pair and a birdie, eventually making the turn at even par. His back nine saw for bogeys and two birdies, ending the round with a two-over 74.
In his first collegiate tournament, Pontiggia started slowly, and was nine strokes over par through the first six holes of his career. His slow start he rebounded quickly ending his first nine holes with three consecutive birdies. Three more birdies to close the first round saw him finish the round at three strokes over par. His second round saw an eagle on the par-five ninth hole, three birdies and 10 pars to close at a one-under 71.
Wisdom used back-to-back birdie to close his opening nine holes at even par and had seven pars and two double bogeys to close the opening round with a four-over 76. His second round had a birdie and bogey to open the first nine holes of his second round, and was followed by six pars, one birdie, one bogey, and a double-bogey on the back half of the afternoon's round to end the day with a two over-74.
The Redbirds tee it up for the final round starting at 9:10 a.m. alongside Toledo and Michigan.
STORY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
» After an opening 291, Michigan posted a 282 (-6), positioning itself third after 36 holes (573, -3) at the fall opening Island Resort Intercollegiate.
» U-M's second round 282 (-6) is the third lowest team tally in the Zach Barlow era.
» Hunter Thomson (72-70) and Will Anderson (71-71) pace the Wolverines at 142 (-2), putting them tied for ninth.
» Playing as an individual, Ben Hoagland posted the first career sub-par round 67 (-4) of his career and is tied for fifth (139, -5), while Jude Kim used seven birdies to card a 68 (-4) in the second round, one off his career-best round.
» Michigan will play the final round with first-day leader Toledo (567, -9) and Illinois State (572, -4) on Monday (Sept. 5).
U-M Team Standing: 3rd Place of 12 Teams (291-282/573, -3) after day 1
Top U-M Individual: Hunter Thomson (72-70), Will Anderson (71-71), t-9th (142, -2)
Next U-M Round: Monday, Sept. 5 -- at Island Resort Intercollegiate, 7:40 a.m. (tee times)
STORY FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
BARK RIVER, Mich. – The Kentucky men’s golf team used a strong second round to climb to fourth place after the opening day of the Island Resort Intercollegiate Monday at Sage Run Golf Club. After an opening-round 11-over-par 299 in the morning, the Wildcats’ 10-under 278 in the second round was the best score of the afternoon by four strokes.
With one round to play Monday, Toledo leads the 13-team field at 9-under, followed by Illinois State at 4-under, Michigan at 3-under and the Wildcats at 1-over. Play resumes on Monday for the final 18 holes. Live stats are available via golfstat.com.
Graduate student Garrett Wood sits in fifth place at 5-under, two strokes back of leader NJ Botha of Toledo. Graduate transfer Dhaivat Pandya is tied for 18th at 1-over while senior Alex Goff is tied for 29th at 3-over. Playing as an individual, freshman Kevin Watts is tied for 24th at 2-over.
Pandya paced the Wildcats in the opening round, tallying three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 ninth on his way to a 1-under-par 71. Wood notched four opening-round birdies to post a an even-par 72 while Campbell Kramer, Andrew Clark and Goff rounded out the lineup, each recording a 6-over 78.
Five Wildcats participated as individuals, paced by Watts, who totaled four birdies on the front nine, his second nine of the day, en route to a 1-over-par 73 in his first collegiate round.
Wood then paced the Wildcats in the second round, carding a 5-under 67. Goff bounced back with three birdies on each side, posting a 3-under-par 69, while Clark and Kramer each tallied a 1-under 71.
As a team, the Wildcats tallied the most birdies in the field with 40 while sitting second in par-5 scoring at 12-under.
MIAMI UNIVERSITY STORY
After two rounds of the Island Resort Intercollegiate Invitational at South Dakota State, the Miami University golf team is tied in fifth place. Cameron Pero recorded five-under par during the second round, highlighted by six birdies.
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Pero leads the team at three-under par, tied for seventh in the tournament individually.
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Danny Fisher finished one under in the first round, recording four birdies.
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Brett Podobinski recorded two eagles during the first day, with one coming in each round.
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After scoring two above par in the opening round, Pero improved by seven strokes to shoot a 67.
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Jack Ebner, Pero, Sam West, Podobinski, and Sam Mortell all dropped their scores during the second round, helping the RedHawks improve by 12 strokes from the first round to the second.
Team Standings (After Day 1 of 2)
1. Toledo 281-286 = 567 (-9)
2. Illinois State 287-285 = 572 (-4)
3. Michigan 291-282 = 573 (-3)
4. Kentucky 299-278 = 577
5. Miami (Ohio) 295-283 = 578
North Dakota State 293-285 = 578
7. Valparaiso 301-282 = 583
8. Southern Illinois 294-292 = 586
9. South Dakota State 302-295 = 597
10. Kentucky (B) 302-298 = 600
11. Bowling Green 302-299 = 601
12. Green Bay 321-302 = 623
13. Northern Michigan 327-319 = 646
Top Individuals
1. N.J. Botha, Toledo 68-69 = 137 (-7)
2. Matthew Schaefer, SDSU 72-66 = 138
Caleb VanArragon, Valparaiso 72-66 = 138
Valentin Peugnet, Illinois State 72-66 = 138
5. Garrett Wood, Kentucky 72-67 = 139
BEN HOAGLAND, U-M 72-67 = 139*
7. Cameron Pero, Miami (Ohio) 74-67 = 141
Barend Botha, Toledo 71-70 = 141
9. HUNTER THOMSON, U-M 72-70 = 142
WILL ANDERSON, U-M 71-71 = 142
Anthony Delisanti, Valparaiso 73-69 = 142
Ian Simonich, NDSU 70-72 = 142
