GAINESVILLE, Ga. – The ninth-ranked UWF men's golf team is within striking distance of a top-five position following 36 holes of play in the NCAA Division II South/Southeast Regional at Chattahoochee Golf Club.
After an erratic opening set of holes that put the Argonauts in last place, they finished strong with three birdies in the final six holes. They sat in 16th place after a 295 and then played a steady even-par round in the afternoon. That 288 effort saw them move up eight spots in the team standings as they played the final seven holes at 2-under-par.
UWF posted a 583 at the end of the day and is two shots behind fifth-place Saint Leo entering Saturday's final round. Thursday's opening round was postponed due to persistent rain in northern Georgia and the tournament committee decided to play 36 holes on Friday.
Top-ranked North Georgia is in first place at 12-under-par, followed by No. 21 Coker at 6-under and No. 14 Florida Southern at 2-under. No. 12 Nova Southeastern is in fourth at 3-over and No. 13 Saint Leo in fifth at 5-over.
The top five finishing teams and the top two student-athletes on non-advancing teams will advance to the 2024 NCAA DII National Championships in Winter Park, Fla., May 21-25 hosted at Orange County National Golf Center.
Individually for the Argos, freshman
Per Ekelund is in 17th place with a 75-70=145, while junior
Mason Minkel signed for a pair of 73s and is tied for 28th place. Freshman
TJ Thompson is in 42nd at 147, with sophomore
Cooper Tendick and junior
Fabian Wennerlof a shot back at 148.
In Saturday's action, UWF will play with Nova Southeastern and Saint Leo, with the first of those groups starting on No. 1 at 11:50 a.m. Eastern time.
