(Thomas Fernandez image)
Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman widened his lead over the field after 36 holes of stroke play, firing 1-under 69 to sit at -7 for the championship. Starting on No. 10, he put up another bogeyless nine holes, making the turn at 2-under par. Steelman finished 1-over par on the inward nine to end the day three strokes ahead of two players tied for second place at -4. (Ross Steelman, GT Athletics)
Texas A&M’s Daniel Rodrigues climbed 17 spots up the leaderboard, firing 4-under 66 to sit T2 for the championship alongside Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Rodrigues jumped out to an incredible start, birding four out of six holes on the front (3-8), before finishing the back nine at even par. Dumont de Chassart got it to 3-under par through 10 holes. He backed up one stroke on the way in to post 2-under 68.
Florida’s Fred Biondi moved up 10 spots to solo fourth place, with a clean 2-under-par performance featuring two birdies on the back nine and pars on everything else. At -3 for the championship, he sits four strokes off the pace set by Steelman.
Finishing tied for ninth as a team, Sun Devil Men’s Golf improved by 10 strokes on day two, firing 1-over par, which tied for the second-best team scorecard of the morning wave. Luke Potter and Ryggs Johnston led, with a pair of 1-under 69s.
“I thought yesterday wasn’t as bad as it was made to sound, so we were excited to come out and prove that today,” said head coach Matt Thurmond. “We’re going to play a good round and it’s going to sound like a comeback story when it really isn’t. I thought the course played harder today.”
With early tee times, the Sun Devils sat in 15th place midway through Saturday before scores from the afternoon wave pushed them up the leaderboard to T9.
