Upperclass

Senior duo leads Owls during first day of Gene Hackler Invitational

3/15/2010 12:37:20 AM

By: by Scott Lipsky

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Alex Jones shot rounds of 77-76 to lead the Owls on a windy first day of the General Hackler Championship, held at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Jones' total first day score of +9 153 put the senior in a tie for 28^th place in the 71-player field heading into Monday's final round.

Fellow upperclassman, senior J.P. Putnam, was the other Owl to fire a pair of rounds in the 70s on Sunday, going 78-77 to sit in a tie for 40^th.

The Owls find themselves 32 shots off the pace set by their Atlantic Sun Conference rival, No. 31-ranked East Tennessee State, who shot a team score of +11 587 to lead the tournament after the first 36-holes. The 12-team field includes seven squads that are ranked in the top 50 in the nation, according to Golfstat.

"We struggled from start to finish today and although we were disappointed in our performance, we did take some positives away from today,” said Owls head coach Jay Moseley. “I was very encouraged by the way Alex, JP and Jeff hit the ball, but our putting continues to cost us too many strokes. We feel confident that tomorrow is going to be better."

The Owls will all start on the 10^th tee on Monday, with freshman Peter Hermansson slated to be the first of them off at 7:50 a.m. Coverage of the General Hackler Championship, including live scoring, is available on Golfstat's tournament page.

Individual Results Through Round 2

t28. Alex Jones- 77-76 153 (+9)

t40. J.P. Putnam- 78-77 155 (+11)

t44. Jeff Karlsson- 81-75 156 (+12)

t60. Sam Curtis- 85-76 161 (+17)

t63. Peter Hermansson 79-83 162 (+18)

Team Results Through Round 2

East Tennessee St.

+11

294

293

587