MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala.
? Despite improving by eight shots over their opening round score, the Troy
Trojans left “The Fighting Joe” on Tuesday afternoon wondering what could have
been at the Sun Belt Conference Championship golf tournament.
The Trojans shot a collective two-under par 286 at the
Robert Trent Jones facility in Tuesday's second round, but let numerous chances
to make even greater strides slip through their fingers.
“We made a run today, like I knew we would, but we have got
to find a way to make some putts,” Trojans coach Matt Terry said. “We could
have been 10 or even 12 shots better if we could have just gotten some putts to
fall.”
The Trojans stand in eighth place overall, but are within
eight shots of third place South Alabama
entering the final round.
Denver
(564) has a five shot lead in the tournament at 12-under par after scoring a
team 280 on Tuesday. First round leader Louisiana-Lafayette (569) is second,
followed by USA (572) and New Orleans (574). North
Texas (576), Middle Tennessee (577) and Western Kentucky (577) are just in
front of Troy
(580).
First round tournament leader Michael McGrady was especially
symbolic of the Trojans' putting woes. After shooting a blistering 67 on
Monday, the junior from Harare,
Zimbabwe, came
back with a 74 on Tuesday, posting the highest score among the five Trojans.
McGrady got to one-under par twice on the front nine, only
to post bogeys on the par three fifth and par four eighth holes. After making
the turn at even par, he dropped a stroke with a bogey on the par five 12th
and a double on the par three 13th.
Still, McGrady had a chance to finish strong after putting
his second shot within five feet on the 537-yard, par-five 17th. His
putt for eagle, however, lipped out and he followed with another lip out of a
short birdie putt on 18 after almost scoring an ace.
McGrady's 74 dropped him from two shots in front of the
field, into a five-way tie for fifth, five shots back of South Alabama senior
Johnny Caldwell (Northern
Ireland). Caldwell followed an opening round
69 with a 67 on Tuesday to take a one-shot lead over a trio of players ? Devin
Carrey of ULL, Brent Long of Western Kentucky and Daniel Wax of Denver.
“Michael still had a great chance to win this tournament,
but he has got to find a way to make some of those putts he lipped out today,”
Terry said.
Troy junior Wes Parker (Enterprise, Ala.)
was another example of the Trojans' putting woes. After posting 41 putts in
Monday's round (77), he came back on Tuesday with 33 putts in posting a 73. At
six-over par for the tournament, he is tied for 42nd.
Junior Jake Brodhead (Warsaw,
Ind.) had woes of a different
kind in his round Tuesday. Despite carding seven birdies during his round, he
finished with a one-under score of 71 thanks to a double-bogey on the par-five
opening hole and a triple-bogey on the par-three 13th. His overall
score of five-over par (149) leaves him tied for 40th.
Senior Jordy Hayden (Livingston,
Ala.) turned in the most consistent
round for the Trojans on Tuesday, carding a one-under score of 71. His score
included a pair of late bogeys, one on 14 and the other on 18, that kept him
from being in a tie with McGrady for fifth in the tournament. His overall score
of one-under 143 leaves him tied for 13th, seven shots back of the
leader.
Troy's fifth player, junior
Jay Harris from nearby Killen,
Ala., got off to another slow
start with bogeys on the second and third holes. But, unlike on Monday when he
shot an 80, he regrouped to post pars on the next 10 holes before consecutive
birdies on 14 and 15, followed by another on 17, allowed him to post a 71. He
stands tied for 46th at seven-over par, 151.
The Trojans will open the final round of the
tournament on the back nine Wednesday, starting at 8:15 a.m. Troy
will play with Arkansas-Little Rock and Western Kentucky
in the final round.
