Portemont Charges Up Leaderboard

USF INVITATIONAL LIVE SCORING | ROUND TWO RESULTS

DADE CITY, Fla. – The Troy men's golf team slid backwards in Saturday's second round of play at the USF Invitational, but one Trojans senior made a move up the leaderboard.

Senior Zach Portemont (Andalusia, Ala.) posted a nearly flawless five-under par round of 67 to move into a tie for fifth place individually in the 21-team tournament at Lake Jovita Golf & Country Club.

Portemont opened his round with a bogey, but got that shot back with a birdie on the second hole and added birdies on eight and nine as well as 16. His best hole was the par five 13th, on which he covered the 562 yards for an eagle.

The strong second round for Portemont, which equaled the low round of the tournament, leaves him five shots off the lead going into Sunday's final round of play. He will be paired with Daniel Mazziotta of Florida Gulf Coast in the final round. Mazziotta is in second place, three shots in front of Portemont.

“He played well and he was pleased with the way he played,” Trojans coach Matt Terry said. “He hit the ball well even though he didn't make everything he could have. He could play even better tomorrow. He is playing well, so we'll see what happens.”

Another senior, Reid Merritt (Slocomb, Ala.) followed his three-under par opening round with one-over par second round. Three straight bogeys on the middle of the back nine hurt his effort.

“Reid is playing well, he just had that one bad stretch on the back side,” Terry said. “He is playing well enough to post a very low number on Sunday.”

Merritt is tied for 12th at two-under par for the tournament and has a chance at a top 10 finish.

The three other players for the Trojans were all over par on Saturday. Junior Ricky Casko bounced back from an opening round of 82 with a 76 in the second round. The Cartersville, Ga., native had been Troy's most consistent player going into the tournament, but is struggling with his putter.

“He is not trusting his putting, that he is capable of getting it done,” Terry said. “He just has to relax and trust what he sees and he will be OK.”

Both senior Chase Whitehead (Eufaula, Ala.) and freshman Nathan Kinch (Sydney, Australia) posted six-over par rounds of 78 on Saturday.

“If we can get all of our guys to play the way they are capable, we have a chance,” Terry said. “We are only 10 shots out of second and we are only two shots behind the 30th ranked team in the nation (UCF).”

Middle Tennessee (-25) has run away from the rest of the field and holds a 20-shot lead over second place North Texas (-5). Villanova (-3) is in third with Florida State and Arkansas State tied for fourth at two-under.
“Middle is playing extremely well and there is not much you can do when a team is playing like they are,” Terry said. “They are a good team and should be playing well.

“We are only two shots behind the 30th ranked team in the country. We just have to go out and do our deal tomorrow and then get ready for Florida State.”

The Trojans will play with Florida Gulf Coast and Eastern Michigan in the final round on Sunday. Play will start at 7:30 a.m. with a shotgun start.

Troy University Athletics

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