SIMPSONVILLE, Ky.- WKU Men's Golf completed the opening day of competition at the Cardinal Intercollegiate in a tie for ninth place, just ten strokes out of third place at the Cardinal Club in Simpsonville, Ky. entering the final round on Tuesday.
"We are poised to put on a good show (tomorrow)," said head coach Phillip Hatchett. "All of the guys here are capable of playing good golf on this golf course. Our goal is to do just that tomorrow. We have a good team here with us and when we are firing on all cylinders, we will be in really good shape."
WKU posted a second round score of +4 (292), a four stroke improvement off their morning round in the event. Coming off an impressive finish in the Marshall Invitational, Cameron Beal stands in 25th place alongside Will Beard after shooting +2 on day one.
Brandon Beckham, playing in his first tournament of the year, stands in 34th place at +3 for the tournament. Conor Griffiths is at +5 while Nate Johnson made his debut shooting +11.
The Toppers opened the event with a +8 (296) in the opening round to finish in a tie for seventh. Cameron Beal led WKU, finishing at even par for his opening round in a tie for 12th place. All five WKU golfers finished in the top 40 after the opening round.
Wes Gates of Bowling Green shot a 7-under par 137 to lead the Falcons after the first two rounds of the Cardinal Intercollegiate. The Falcons lead the 15-team field after shooting an 8-under par 288-280=568, which is two shots better than the host, Louisville, who stands in second place overall after firing 291-279=570. Murray State is 10 shots back after carding 293-285=578. Gates led the field by shooting 70-67 and owns a two-shot lead over Dustin Korte of Austin Peay and Jones Brown of Northern Kentucky.
The Cardinal Club, site of the 2012 NCAA Division II National Championships, is a Spencer Holt-designed course that is home to the University of Louisville Golf program. The 18-hole layout is situated on 212-acres of carefully manicured Bent grass from tee-to-green.
For complete coverage of WKU Golf, visit the official website of WKU Athletics at www.wkusports.com.
T-25. Cameron Beal 72 74 146
T-25. Will Beard 74 72 146
T-34. Brandon Beckham 75 72 147
T-47. Conor Griffiths 75 74 149
T-70. Nate Johnson 75 80 155
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