University of Memphis Athletics
Brad Bawden shot 2-under 69 Monday and is in second place at the AAC Championship.
Photo by: Ben Solomon
Men's golf surges to lead in AAC Championship
Apr 22, 2019 | Men's Golf
Tigers enter final round with a six-stroke lead over SMU
PALM HARBOR, Fla. -- The University of Memphis was the only team to shoot under par during the second round of the American Athletic Conference Championship Monday, a round that moved the Tigers into first place entering Tuesday's final round.
Led by Brad Bawden and Isaiah Jackson – each of whom shot under-par scores --Memphis finished at 2-under 282 and leads second-place SMU by six strokes. Through two rounds, the Tigers are at even-par 568, followed by SMU (574), Temple (580) and UCF (580). Defending champion USF is at 15-over 583.
The winner of the AAC Champion earns an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers made their last postseason trip in 2016.
Monday at the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort, the Tigers led by as many as 12 strokes midway through the round. Bawden paced the UofM by firing a 2-under 69 for a two-day total of 139. He is in second place, seven strokes behind leader McClure Meissner of SMU. Jackson, Bawden's teammate, shot 1-under 70 and is at 144.
Chase Harris shot even-par 71 and is tied for seventh at 143. Guillaume Chevalier, who was 4-under through 13 holes Monday, is at 144. He played bogey-free golf until reaching the par-5, 14th hole.
Borja Martin is a stroke back at 145.
"We have shown really good production 1 through 5 so far this week," said Tigers coach Blake Smart. "Tuesday will come down to execution and mental toughness. We have a great game plan and five guys playing well. We just have to continue our process."
The Tigers' best result in an AAC Championship came in 2016 when they were runner-up to USF. USF has won four straight titles.
2019 American Athletic Conference Men's Golf Championship
When: April 21, 22 and 23
Where: Innisbrook Resort: Copperhead Course, Palm Harbor, Fla.
Par: 71
Yardage: 7,125 yards
Live Scoring: Golfstat.com
Teams in the Field (10): Cincinnati, ECU, Houston, Memphis, SMU, Temple, UCF, UConn, USF, Wichita State.
Defending champion: USF won the 2018 title by shooting 10-under 842
Players Mentioned
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