[Men's Golf] Trevecca Men's Golf | In the Hunt to Advance at NCAA National Championships
DANIELS, WVa. - The Trevecca Nazarene University Men's Golf team is through two rounds, 36-holes, at the 2019 DII men's golf championships. The Trojans are one of 20 teams and a total of 108 individuals and now sit in a tie for tenth overall.
John Leverton (SR/Pontiac, IL) is the top Trojan in 16th (of 108) with a one-under 143. The team is in a tie for 10th (of 20) at 294-289-583.
The final stroke play round is Wednesday with the top eight teams advancing to the match play finals Thursday and Friday.
The top four teams have put some distance above the rest of the field, and there are nine teams closely batched together fighting for the final four slots for the match play round. The nine teams are just three strokes apart.
Tied for fifth (five-over-par) are Missouri – St. Louis and Lincoln Memorial. Three teams, Dixie State University, Grand Valley State, and Florida Southern, are tied for seventh (six-over-par). Tied for ninth (seven-over-par) are three teams; Lindenwood University, Trevecca, and Cal State Monterey Bay. UC San Diego is alone at eight-over-par. A tenth team, South Carolina – Aiken, is not far off the pace at 11-over-par.
The Trojans, in their first NCAA Division II National Championships appearance, tee off on Wednesday on hole #10 beginning with Conner Conkel (SO/Atlanta, GA) at 11:55 AM. The final Trojan to tee off will be John Leverton at 12:39 PM. The team will play with members of Lindenwood University and Cal State Monterey Bay.
LIVE SCORING: Individual Stroke Play | Team Medal Match
The 2019 championships are run May 20-24, at The Resort at Glade Springs in Daniels, West Virginia. The course is playing to a par of 72 over 7114 yards. The championships are hosted by the Mountain East Conference.
The conditions were cool in the morning (mid 50's), but sunny and warm the rest of the day. The scoring benefitted from better conditions and milder wind, dropping from a 75.26 average Monday to a 73.51 average in round two.
TREVECCA TEAM
The team started play at 11 AM, teeing from hole #1 today at The Resort at Glade Springs. The team improved five strokes on Monday's first round with one final stroke play round scheduled for Wednesday. The top eight teams will advance to the match play finals Thursday and Friday.
T8 | Trevecca Nazarene | 294 | 289 | 583 |
T17 | 70 | 73 | 143 | |
T36 | Blain Turner (SO/Mt. Juliet, TN) | 76 | 70 | 146 |
T53 | Ryan Rozic (JR/Melbourne, FL) | 73 | 75 | 148 |
T53 | Larken Whittemore (SR/Lafayette, TN) | 77 | 71 | 148 |
T92 | 75 | 80 | 155 |
Trevecca is eight-under-par on the par five holes (4.80) and sixth overall in the field. The Trojans have the fourth most pars with 112 and are fourth with one eagle.
The 583 total is the 11th best 36-hole total in program history, but fifth best this year.
TREVECCA INDIVIDUALS
John Leverton is 16th and shot a one-over-par 73 and is now one-under for the tournament. Leverton added two more birdies to his career and season totals, playing one-under par on the back nine today.
Leverton is 22nd in the field with seven birdies.
Leverton is tied for 18th in the field with a three-under-par (4.63) average on the par five holes. He is also 18th in the field with a one-over-par (4.05) on the par four holes and is 25th on the par three holes with a one-over par total (3.13).
Leverton, with four birdies and an eagle, turned in one of just 12 red numbers on Monday with his two-under par 70. He has six birdies during the championships.
The 36-hole total of 143 is a career-best for Leverton. Leverton now has 93 career birdies and is ranked 11th all-time.
Blain Turner moved up to 35th and recorded a two-under-par 70 on Tuesday and is two-over for the championships. After recording two birdies on Monday, the 2019 Great Midwest Golfer of the Year and 2019 Great Midwest Medalist put five birdies on his scorecard today. Turner shot one-under par on the front and again on the back.
Turner is tied for eighth in the field with an even-par total on the par four holes. Turner is 22nd in the field with seven birdies.
Turner now has a school record 16 par or better rounds this season, breaking his record of 11 set last year.
Turner owns 27 par or better rounds in his career, ranking him second all-time.
Larken Whittemore is now 52nd and shot a one-under-par 71 with a pair of birdies on the front nine and 11 straight par holes to finish the round. Whittemore is four-over par for the tournament.
Whittemore leads the field with 28 pars.
Whittemore is tied for eighth in the field with an even-par total on the par four holes.
Whittemore now has 10 par or better rounds this season, good enough for fourth all time. It is his career best. He posted nine last season.
Whittemore has 90 birdies this season, second on the all-time list. Whittemore recorded his 25th career par or better round, which places him third all-time. His two birdies give him a Trevecca best 258 career birdies.
Ryan Rozic is with Whittemore in 52nd place and turned in a three-over-par round of 75 and is now four-over after two rounds. Rozic shot even-par on the back nine with a pair of birdies including hole #18. With his four birdies Monday, Rozic has six at the championships.
Rozic is tied for 18th in the field with a three-under-par (4.63) average on the par five holes.
Conner Conkel is 11-over for the tournament with an eight-over par second round. Conkel added two birdies on the day and has three at the tournament.
Conkel is tied for 18th in the field with a three-under-par (4.63) average on the par five holes.
THE FIELD
The top two teams, Barry University (294-272=566 / 10-under) and Lynn University (292-277=569 / 7-under) lead the way. The University of West Florida is not far behind with a 293-281=574. Arkansas Tech is next in fourth with a one-over-par total of 288-289=577.
The final four spots to the eight-team match play finals is a tight race with Trevecca in the middle of the hunt.
HOW THE TROJANS MADE IT
The Trojans won their sixth Great Midwest Athletic Championship in April and placed fifth at the Central Region Championship in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Trojans used the best team score of the third and final round at region to secure their spot at the national championship.