MADISON, Ill. – Idaho Vandal men's golf is tied for first at the SIUE Dolenc Invitational after a solid showing across the board in windy conditions at the at the Gateway Golf Links in Madison, Ill., just across the river from downtown St. Louis.
"The conditions were tough today," head coach
David Nuhn said. "It was an absolute battle in the wind and I am really proud of the way our guys fought through and finished strong. Those are things we hope to see continue tomorrow."
Five Vandals sit in the top 15 at the tournament, including freshman
Sam Johnson who posted even par scores of 71s in both rounds to claim a tie for the fourth spot.
Matt McGann, competing as an individual, tallied rounds of 71 and 72 to also tie for the fourth spot, but as an individual his score doesn't count for the team score.
Freshman
Joe Sykes and junior
Jose Suryadinata are two-over after two rounds. Both players posted even-par 71s in the first and two-over 73s in the second round. Senior
Colt Sherrell is tied for 15th after going 73,73.
T.J. Patterson sits in 27th with a two-round score of 148, a very strong showing in a field that includes 96 golfers.
With two freshmen sitting in the top-10, Nuhn sees how their upbringing playing golf in England has impacted their game.
"From what I saw today, their experience growing up playing in the wind, played a big role in them being comfortable in these conditions," Nuhn said. "On the golf side, they had great control of the ball flight in the wind, but on the emotional side, they were able to stay in the moment, focus on the next shot and keep battling which was awesome to see as freshmen."
With one round remaining, the Vandals are neck and neck with a familiar foe, Big Sky Conference for Weber State. The Wildcats' fourth golfer, Isaac Buerger, is six-under through two rounds and leads the tournament field by three strokes. Only one other Weber Golfer is in the top 20.
Play resumes tomorrow in the final round of the three-round tournament. Live scoring will be available via
golfstat.com.
