Gradecki continues to pace ETSU out west

LA QUINTA, Calif. (Feb. 21, 2017) – Senior Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland) continued to pace the ETSU men’s golf team as the Bucs wrapped up second round play at The Presitge at PGA West on Tuesday The Greg Norman Course at PGA West. 

Gradecki fired a 1-under-par 70 in round two, while a pair of Bucs totaled a 1-over-par 73 as ETSU sits in a tie for ninth-place following 36 holes of competition. The Bucs – who recorded a 7-over 291 on Tuesday – moved to 15-over-par 583 for the tournament. 

Gradecki – who totaled four birdies, one bogey, 12 pars and a double-bogey on Tuesday – is tied for 15^th at even-par 142. The Buccaneer senior was even thru 10 holes before carding back-to-back birdies on No. 11 and 12; however, Gradecki came away with his double-bogey on the par-3, 192-yard 13^th to move back to even. Fortunately, Gradecki bounced back with a birdie on the par-3, 180-yard 17^th en route to getting to 70 for the round. 

Arizona State’s Jared duToit holds a two-shot lead after 36 holes of play as the 22nd-ranked golfer is at 8-under-par 134 following consecutive rounds of 4-under 67. Stanford’s Franklin Huang is in second at 6-under-par 136, while San Diego State’s Nahum Mendoza III (No. 46) and Iowa State’s Nick Voke are tied for third at 4-under-par 138. 

LSU jumped six spots up the team leaderboard to take the outright lead as the fourth-ranked Tigers carded a 6-under 278 on Tuesday to sit 1-over-par 569 for the tournament. No. 8 Stanford is one shot off the pace at 2-over-par 570, while 14^th-ranked San Diego State and Iowa State are tied for third at 3-over-par 571. 

Sophomore Geuntae Kim (Daegu, South Korea) and freshman Kevin Burns (Canton, Ga.) both shot a 1-over-par 72 in round two. Kim had a strong finish as he birdied three of his final seven holes to move into a tie for 31^st at 4-over-par 146, while Burns is tied for 46^th at 7-over-par 149.

Three teams in this week’s tournament are ranked in the top-10, while five are ranked in the top-25. Individually, two golfers are ranked in the top-10, four in the top-25, and 10 in the top-50.   

The Bucs will be paired with No. 27 Arizona State and Pepperdine in Wednesday’s final round. The teams tee off from No. 1 at 10:30 a.m. (EST). Live scoring will be available via Golfstat.com. 

For more information on Buccaneer men’s golf, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s golf page.