Men’s Golf Climbs to Fourth at The American Championship

Monday, May 2

Lecanto, Fla.

University of Memphis

American Athletic Conference Championship

Photo by: Joe Murphy

Men’s Golf Climbs to Fourth at The American Championship

May 02, 2016 | Men's Golf

Sydney Chung shoots three-under par to lead the Tigers

LECANTO, Fla. – Junior Sydney Chung shot a three-under par 69, tied for the third-best score in the second round, as he climbed 17 spots in the individual standings to a tie of 14th overall, with Memphis climbing a spot into fourth place in the team standings.

Memphis' second-round 290 was the third-lowest score of the day, as the team climbed from fifth into fourth in the standings. The Tigers have a two-round score of 584, which puts them five strokes out of second place, where Houston and East Carolina are tied with a 579. USF continues to lead, and is nine-under par at 567 through 36 holes. UCF (587), Cincinnati (588), UConn (599), Temple (607), and Tulsa (617) round out the nine teams in the field.

Chung's round of 69 started with one of his two bogeys on the opening hole. He followed with three straight pars before evening his score with a birdie on the par-five fifth hole. Following another par, he recorded his final bogey of the day on the par-four seventh hole. He closed the front nine with back-to-back pars, standing at one-over par at the turn.

He was on his game in the back nine, as he dominated the par-72, 7,025-yard Black Diamond Ranch back nine, including birdies on the 10th and 11th holes to put him at one-under par. After three straight pars, he closed the round strong with a birdie on the 15th and 17th holes, putting him at three under par for the round, and tied for 14th overall in the field.

A round after shooting one under par, Thomas Perrot shot an up and down round that saw him with four bogeys, four birdies, and 10 pars and an even 72. His two-round score of 143 (-1) has him tied for sixth overall with 18 holes to play in the tournament. He struggled out of the open with bogeys on the second and fifth holes, putting him at two strokes over par. After two pars, he birdied the eighth and 10th holes to put him back at even par.

A par on the 11th hole was followed by back-to-back bogeys, putting him back at two over par. He answered quickly back with a birdie on the par-five 14th hole, before closing strong with three pars and a birdie on the par-five 18th hole, dropping him back to even par.

Lars van Meijel had a tumultuous day as he started with four consecutive pars before shooting three bogeys over the next four holes to put him at three over par, which is where he stood at the turn.

A birdie on the 10th hole kick-started his back nine, dropping him to two over par, as another birdie on the 14th hole put him at one over par. A bogey on the par-three 17th hole put his aggregate score to two over par over the 18 holes, giving him a two-round score of 148, standing 22nd in the field.

Sophomore Taylor McCullum was the fourth and final counting score for the Tigers in the second round, as she shot a three-over 75 on the day, and his 10-over 154 has him tied for 33rd in the field. McCullum started slow, with bogeys on two of the first three holes, putting him at two over par. He followed with back-to-back birdies on the par-three fourth hole and the par-five fifth, before a bogey on the seventh hole put him back at one over par, the same total he closed the front half of the course with.

He started with back-to-back birdies after the turn, before running a stretch of bogey, par, birdie on the 12th, 13th, and 14th holes, respectively, keeping him at one stroke over par. He hit a bit of a speed bump as the round came to a close with bogeys on the 17th and 18th holes, and he closed the round with a three-over 75.

Eithel McGowen, the team's most consistent golfer this season showed why he had earned that moniker with seven pars over the first nine holes, and stood at two over par at the turn.

McGowen added two more bogeys on the back nine, and seemed to be headed towards a back nine score that mirrored the front nine until he shot a double-bogey on the par-five 18th hole, taking him to six over par and the unused score of the round. Coupled with his one stroke over par first round, he stands in a tie for 27th place in the field at seven over par.

The Tigers head into the third and final round paired with the same three teams as the second round – Cincinnati and UCF – and will tee off on the first hole starting at 7 a.m. CT.