VIDEO: Elliot MacGregor Interview
SEVIERVILLE, Tenn.- For the second consecutive day, No.21 Carson-Newman men's golf put together an under-par team score to sit in first place heading into the final round of the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate.
C-N's under par (-2) 286 team score was once again the lowest effort by any team this afternoon. The Eagles are -10 for the tournament and hold a 13-stroke advantage over second place North Georgia.
"They are just playing their gameplan and taking it one shot at a time," Carson-Newman head coach Randy Wylie said. "Obviously we know the golf course well, we haven't played it in sleet much like we did today, but it was just a really good day for some young, and tough-minded Eagle competitors."
Four Eagles are inside the top 11 heading into the final round of play.
In four career rounds at the Bobby Nichols Intercollegiate, sophomore Elliot MacGregor (Shepperton, Middlesex) has been par or better in each round. He was able to maintain that today by making birdie on his final three holes of the day (16,17,18) to secure an even par round of 72. MacGregor recovered after a double bogey on the front nine, and a bogey early on the back nine.
"I think I've had so much success because we play it so much, MacGregor said. "We know the course pretty well. It's great to play an event here, where it's serious. All the practice certainly makes it a lot of fun out here."
MacGregor is in a tie for fourth place, just seven strokes back of the individual leader.
Pacing the Eagles in round two was Hayden Hunneke (Chattanooga, Tenn.). The graduate student continues to play phenomenal golf, recording his 13th straight par or better round today. He fired in C-N's only under par round of the day, a 3-under 69. He made six birdies in the second round, four of which came on the back nine. His round also included nine pars. Hunneke is 3-under for the event and enters the final round in a tie for 6th place.
Luke Stock (Oxted, England) played a very consistent round two, scoring an even par 72. The junior made 14 pars, two birdies and two bogeys in the round. A birdie on his final round of the day allowed him to get back to even par for the round. Stock is also 3-under for the tournament and is tied with Hunneke for 6th place.
Jake Mynatt (Knoxville, Tenn.) made two bogeys and one birdie in the second round to card a 1-over 73. The graduate student made his lone birdie of the round on the longest par five on the course, the 10th hole. He is in a tie for 11th place heading into the final round.
Antonio Farinella (Knoxville, Tenn.) improved his score on day 2 by four strokes. The senior was 3-under through his first 13 holes of the day. He finished his final five holes at 4-over par to score a 1-over 73. Two of his three birdies came on the front nine. With the four stroke improvement, he climbed 22 spots on the leaderboard to a tie for 44th.
Individually, Aidan Powter (Sydney, Australia) made two birdies to help card a 6-over 78. He birdied two par 3s, holes 9 and 17. Powter made nine pars in the second round as well.
Through two rounds, No. 21 Carson-Newman has made the most birdies with 35. The Eagles have also been the best at playing the par 5s, going 14-under par as a team.
Tomorrow's final round tees off at 10:30 a.m. from Sevierville Golf Club.
Live scoring is available at this link:
https://results.golfstat.com/public/leaderboards/gsnav.cfm?pg=team&tid=25513
