Bucs hold two-shot lead heading into final round; Kristjansson leads by seven strokes

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (March 14, 2015) – The ETSU men’s golf team remains ahead of the pack as the 41st-ranked Buccaneers carded an even-par 288 and hold a two-shot lead following second round play at the Seminole Intercollegiate on Saturday afternoon at Southwood Golf Course.

A day after tying an ETSU single-round record with his 63, junior Gudmundur Kristjansson (Reykjavik, Iceland) continued his stellar play as he registered a bogey-free round en route to posting a 5-under 67, tying the lowest score of the day. Kristjansson, who birdied three of his first five holes and picked up two more on the back nine, takes seven-shot lead into Sunday’s final round at 14-under-par 130. Following 36 holes of play, Kristjansson leads the field with 13 birdies and is one of 13 golfers with an eagle on the weekend.

“I took my chances today and put together another solid round,” said Kristjansson, who hit 16 greens in regulation on Saturday. “Today was a little tougher with the weather conditions (wet and windy), but I am pleased with my score. I plan on going out tomorrow with the same mindset I’ve had the first two rounds and won’t be focusing on the lead.” 

South Carolina’s Will Starke – the 11th-ranked player via Golfstat – is in second-place at 7-under-par 137.

Meanwhile, junior Adrian Meronk (Wroclaw, Poland) also totaled a 5-under 67 and moved into a tie for third at 6-under-par 138. Meronk birdied his first hole of the morning and enjoyed a run on No. 6, 7 and 8 where he posted book-end birdies, while adding an eagle in the middle.

“My putting was my strength today,” said Meronk, who sank a 60-70-foot eagle putt on No. 7. “To be honest, I wasn’t hitting it as good today as I did yesterday, but I made some big shots when I needed to. Hopefully we can go out, play our best tomorrow and win the tournament.”

South Carolina closed the gap on the Bucs as the eighth-ranked Gamecocks shot a 7-under 281 and sit two strokes back at 10-under-par 566. No. 4 Georgia Tech is in third at 9-under-par 567, while No. 23 Virginia and No. 43 Louisville are four shots back in fourth.

As a team, the Blue and Gold – who are 12-under-par 564 after two rounds  – have recorded 36 birdies and are one of five teams with two eagles for the tournament.

With Kristjansson and Meronk sitting in the top-3, junior Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland) is tied for 55th and senior Tom Heggarty (Cheshire, England) is tied for 62nd. Both Gradecki and Heggarty shot a 1-under 71 on Friday.

"Both Gudmundur and Adrian played great today as they tied for the lowest score of the round," said head coach Fred Warren. "It’s nice to see Gudmundur continue his extraordinary play. It was kind of unusual how we shot even-par as a team, but we are glad to be leading. We will be paired with South Carolina and Georgia Tech tomorrow, so it will be good experience for the guys. We are looking forward to playing tomorrow and hopefully we finish strong." 

The Bucs will be the last group to go out on Sunday as ETSU tees off at 9:40 a.m. Live scoring will be available on Golfstat.

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