Pugh tied for second, Kristjansson tied for fifth heading into Sunday’s final round

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Sept. 15, 2012) – Sophomore Rhys Pugh (Pontypridd, Wales) and freshman Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) paced the ETSU men’s golf team on Saturday as the Buccaneer tandem are within striking distance of the leader heading into tomorrow’s final round of the Tar Heel Intercollegiate. Pugh finished the first two rounds with a 4-under-par 140 (66-74) and sits three shots off the lead, while Kristjansson is tied for fifth after firing a 3-under 141 (68-73) at the UNC Finley Golf Course.

Playing in their first tournament of the season, Pugh and Kristjansson both started off the day with solid scores. Pugh carded a bogey-free opening round and was tied for the lead after finishing with a 6-under 66, and Kristjansson ended just two shots back at 4-under-par 68. Pugh birdied three holes on the front nine and three more on the back, while Kristjansson did the same but posted a bogey on the 458-yard, par-4 ninth and the 449-yard, par-4 16th.

Meanwhile, in the second round, Pugh bogeyed the first and ninth holes en route to posting a 2-over-par 74, but the sophomore ended on a positive note as he birdied No. 18 to finish the day. Kristjansson did the exact opposite of his teammate as he started off the second round strong, but ended with a double bogey on the 456-yard, par-4 18th. The Buccaneer rookie kept himself near the leader after posting three birdies on the front nine – and after registering bogeys on two of the first three holes on the back nine – he battled back with a birdie on the 560-yard, par-5 17th.  

The Buccaneer duo trail North Carolina State’s Albin Choi who ended the first two rounds with a 7-under-par 137. Pugh and Choi were both tied for the lead after the first round, but the N.C. State golfer shot a 1-under 71 in the second round to grab a three shot lead.

Pugh has company in second as North Carolina’s Patrick Barrett and Michael McGowan also recorded scores of 140. McGowan carded the lowest score in the second round after shooting a 4-under 68.

Kristjansson is tied with four other golfers, while fellow freshman Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) fired consecutive rounds of 74 and is tied for 35th.

Duke enters the final round with the team lead as the 21st-ranked Blue Devils hold an eight shot advantage over North Carolina and Charlotte. The Blue Devils shot a 9-under 567 (285-282), while ETSU sits 16 shots off the lead. The Bucs are tied for fourth with North Carolina State and UNC Wilmington after posting a 7-over 583 (288-295) in the first two rounds.

The final round begins at 7:40 a.m. Sunday, while the Bucs won’t begin until 8:25 a.m. when Chris Hickman (Centreville, Md.) tees off. Kristjansson is scheduled to tee off at 8:52 and Pugh follows at 9:01.

Live scoring will be available on GolfStat.com, while a full recap with results can be found on ETSUBucs.com.

For more information on men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com.