Sept. 26, 2008
Day One Results
Day Two Tee Times
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Kennesaw State Men's Golf team closed strong on the first day of the Mason Rudolph Championship Friday. Three of five Owls birdied the par-five 18th at the 7,100-yard, par-71 Vanderbilt Legend's Club South Course to move the team into a tie for fifth at 286.
The Owls, who lead top 50 Mississippi State (36) and Middle Tennessee State (39) by five and eight strokes respectively, are just two strokes out of the top three and five strokes off of the lead held by South Carolina at 281.
"This is a good start but we have a long way to go," said Kennesaw State Head Coach Blake Smart. "We will need to make more birdies in the next two rounds to have a chance to win this."
Senior Michael Tulacz led the Owls in the opening 18, finishing the day in a tie for fourth after recording a three-under par 68. Tulacz started strong, making birdie on the first and fourth holes and eagling the par-five sixth to finish with a frontside 32. He dropped back to one-under after bogeys on 12 and 13, before bouncing back with birdies on 17 and 18.
J.P. Putnam and Matthew Nagy also played well for the Owls on Friday; turning in one-over par 72's to stand tied for 24th. Putnam, who led the Owls in their first event with a pair of 68's, was steady for most of the day, leaving 14 at one-under par before bogeys on 15 and 17 dropped him back to one-over. Nagy recovered from a tough start, capping a two-under par run over his final twelve holes with a birdie on 18.
Freshman Jeff Karlsson completed the Owls scoring for the day, using a birdie of his own on 18 to card a three-over par 74. Karlsson came in par or better on 15 of 18 holes, but was denied a chance to tie his lowest round of the season after a double bogey on the par four tenth. Parker Houston only strayed from par four times himself, but he couldn't find the red numbers and finished with a four-over par 75.
"We played really solid today in windy conditions and with fast greens," added Smart. "Our short games were really fantastic, getting up and down 70 percent of the time."
Western Carolina's Caleb Marsh and Arkansas State's Tyler Thompson share the individual lead after turning in five-under par 66's.
The teams will play 18 holes again on Saturday, with play getting underway at 10 a.m. Live scoring is available through Golf Stat at www.golfstat.com or by clicking on the Live Scoring link on the right-hand side of the Kennesaw State Athletics homepage.
Day One Results
Owls +2, 286, t5th of 17
t4 Michael Tulacz -3, 68
t24 Matthew Nagy +1, 72
t24 J.P. Putnam +1, 72
t36 Jeff Karlsson +3, 74
t50 Parker Houston +54, 75
