No surprise: Tech leads after 2 rounds
Arkansas Tech walked away with the lead in both the men’s and women’s division after 36 holes in the Great American Conference Golf Championships Monday at Hot Springs Country Club.
The Golden Suns finished the day with a 589 while Henderson State trails by a single stroke.
Arkansas Tech head men’s and women’s golf coach Luke Calcatera said he is very excited.
“I’m really happy with the way they’ve played the first day,” he said. “(We’re) also very aware that there still is a lot more golf that needs to happen in between now and then and so, you know, you enjoy today but you know that there’s a lot of golf left and just try to be as prepared as you can for tomorrow.”
Arkansas Tech’s Katie Whitfield and Henderson’s Karen Lee are tied for first to lead the championship with a 2-under 142 on the day. Whitfield shot a 2-under 70 in the first round but finished with even par on her second; Lee shot a 1-under
71 in both rounds.
“I thought I hit the ball really good,” said Whitfield. “I had a lot of close shots at the beginning and was able to get a couple birdies at the start and just kind of held it in there. I had a lot of birdies the first round and the second round I just made a lot of pars, a couple birdies, and so it was just overall a really consistent day — really good putting, really good ball striking.”
“I’m pretty proud of myself on, like, working on my putts recently,” added Lee, “and I had a lot of them drop today that I struggled with before.”
Henderson sophomore Gracen Blount, a Lakeside graduate, currently sits at 149 for 5-over 149 and noted she missed some crucial opportunities today. Blount transferred from UCA after her freshman season.
“I was hitting the ball pretty well today, didn’t make as many birdie opportunities as I had,” she said. “Just wasn’t making the putts, but it was a grind out there today, and overall I’m pretty proud of what I ended up shooting.”
Harding sits in third with a two-round score of
613 while Southwest Oklahoma State is in fourth with a 616. Oklahoma Baptist and Arkansas at Monticello sit tied for fifth with 639, Southern Nazarene sits in seventh with a 652, Southern Arkansas is four strokes back with Northwestern Oklahoma State in ninth with a 681.
The Wonder Boys hold a 6-stroke lead after shooting a 4-under 572 with the Reddies in second.
Arkansas Tech’s Andre Jacobs sits atop the leaderboard, shooting a 5-under 139 after a 4-under 68 in the first round, and fellow Wonder Boy Santiago De La Fuente improved from a 2-over 74 to finish at 3-under 141.
“It’s just awesome that he’s playing like his best golf, you know, right at the end of the year at the best, important time,” Calcatera said of Jacobs. “He’s the leader in his ability on the course but also just like practice and everything that he does. Like, he just really builds up the team as well as, you know, leading the tournament and playing really good golf.”
Arkansas-Monticello freshman Carson Garner, another Lakeside graduate, is in a four-way tie for eighth after a 2-over 146 going into today’s final round.
“I feel my ball striking was solid,” he said. “It was tough making a few putts go early, but I put myself in good positions. And I couldn’t capitalize most of the time, but I really didn’t make a whole lot of mistakes, so I think that’s why I stayed around even par. The second round is the total opposite — the ball striking started to slip, but my putting picked up and my short game was on, so I think my damage control was under control today.”
Garner leads the Boll Weevils, who sit in seventh with 612, 40 strokes out of the lead.
“It got a little windy late, and it’s a tight golf course,” he said. “It makes you think about a bunch of shots and these 36hole days man, they’re tough to — it’s tough to think the entire day. It’ll wear you out so. I feel like we have the ability to compete, but I just don’t think we really gave it our best today. Everybody’s fighting hard, though.”
SAU sits just 10 strokes behind HSU in third, SWOSU and SEOSU are tied for fourth with a 592, Harding is sixth with a 597, Southern Nazarene is ninth at 618 while NWOSU is last.