University of Tennessee Athletics
University of Tennessee
Battle at the Beach
Vols Right Their Wrongs With Second-Round Rally
February 15, 2010 | Men's Golf
Feb. 15, 2010
Tennessee finally shook its Battle at the Beach doldrums and moved up one position to 11th place after two rounds of golf in Newport Coast, Calif.
The Vols gained four strokes over their final three holes Monday to record a 5-over-par 360, 11 strokes better than their first-round display at Pelican Hill Golf Club about 50 miles south of Los Angeles. Tennessee's two-day total of 731 is within immediate striking distance of 10th-place Notre Dame at 730 and ninth-place Long Beach State at 727, while Arizona State and Colorado State are next in a tie for seventh at 722.
UT's second round began as poorly as Sunday's effort, with the Vols quickly 9 over par through the first six holes for its five scoring players. The tournament format is an unusual one, each of the 14 teams sporting six players and counting the best five -- one more than normal in both categories for most collegiate team events.
But sophomore Darren Renwick led UT's late Monday charge, firing a 3-under-par 68 that included five birdies over his last 11 holes and a backside score of 31. Renwick missed by one stroke equaling his career low round, set in October at the Bank of Tennessee Intercollegiate. Highlights for the Briton included consecutive birdies at Nos. 10 and 11, and then again at Nos. 16 and 17.
Renwick enters Tuesday's final round in a tie for 10th place at 1-under-par 141.
Oregon State (701) strengthened its team lead to three shots over second-place Washington (704), six over UCLA (707) and nine over Arkansas (710). Washington's Chris Williams (134) claimed the individual lead thanks to his tournament-best round of 65 on Monday that pushed him two strokes clear of Oregon State's Mike Barry (136).
Tennessee's second-round total of 360 was the day's fifth-best score in the 14-team field.
Aiding that cause, Knoxville's David Holmes flirted with an even-par round all afternoon before dropping a shot at the par-5 17th to finish at 1-over 72. His Monday effort saw a pair of birdies on both nines, the last two coming in consecutive fashion at 13 and 14. The senior captain stands at 6-over-par 148 and tied for 53rd place.
Freshman Jay Vandeventer and junior Cameron Lawrence recorded matching 73s. Vandeventer produced 12 pars and three bogeys over his first 15 holes, before a birdie at No. 17 lowered his two-day total to 2-over-par 144. The Bristol product is tied for 33rd place.
Lawrence improved by six strokes over Sunday's 79 and carries some momentum into Tuesday final round. The Brentwood native birdied three of the last six holes and matched his season low score of 73 from the Windon Memorial back in early October. He is tied for 70th at 10-over-par 152.
Also in that group at 152 is Robin Wingardh, who improved Monday by four strokes to a 74. The Swedish junior lost three shots to par on consecutive holes midway through the front nine, but kept it together and finished birdie-bogey to stay in that tie for 70th at 10 over par for the tournament.
James Brannen shot a 5-over-par 76, but it could have been much worse for the Clarksville senior. Brannen birdied to start before dropping seven shots over a four-hole stretch from Nos. 3-6. But he fashioned two more birdies against a lone bogey the rest of the way and stands alone in 56th place at 7-over-par 149.
Tuesday's final round begins with an 8:30 a.m. Pacific time shotgun start, with high temperatures expected to reach the mid-70s under light winds. Live scoring continues on UTSports.com, via Golfstat.
| TEAM SCORES | ||
| 1. | Oregon State | 348-353--701 (-9) |
| 2. | Washington | 353-351--704 (-6) |
| 3. | UCLA | 354-353--707 (-3) |
| 4. | Arkansas | 349-361--710 (E) |
| 5. | Texas-Arlington | 364-351--715 (+5) |
| 6. | San Diego State | 352-367--719 (+9) |
| t-7. | Arizona State | 359-363--722 (+12) |
| t-7. | Colorado State | 361-361--722 (+12) |
| 9. | Long Beach State | 358-369--727 (+17) |
| 10. | Notre Dame | 366-364--730 (+20) |
| 11. | TENNESSEE | 371-360--731 (+21) |
| 12. | Colorado | 369-365--734 (+24) |
| 13. | San Francisco | 373-368--741 (+31) |
| 14. | UC Davis | 375-368--743 (+33) |
| INDIVIDUAL LEADERS | ||
| 1. | Chris Williams, Washington | 69-65--134 (-8) |
| 2. | Mike Barry, Oregon State | 66-70--136 (-6) |
| t-3. | Austin Graham, UC Davis | 68-69--137 (-5) |
| t-3. | Diego Velasquez, Oregon State | 66-71--137 (-5) |
| 5. | Colin Featherstone, San Diego State | 68-70--138 (-4) |
| UT SCORES | ||
| t-10. | Darren Renwick | 73-68--141 (-1) |
| t-33. | Jay Vandeventer | 71-73--144 (+2) |
| t-53. | David Holmes | 76-72--148 (+6) |
| 56. | James Brannen | 73-76--149 (+7) |
| t-70. | Cameron Lawrence | 79-73--152 (+10) |
| t-70. | Robin Wingardh | 78-74--152 (+10) |
Players Mentioned
