Gradecki sits one shot back heading into Sunday’s final round

FRANKLIN, Tenn. (April 1, 2017) – ETSU senior Mateusz Gradecki (Oborniki Slaskie, Poland) kept himself in contention following Saturday’s second round play at the Mason Rudolph Championship from the Vanderbilt Legends Club South Course. 

Gradecki shot a 1-under 70 on Saturday and sits one shot off the lead with a 36-hole score of 5-under-par 137. The Buccaneer senior totaled two birdies, 15 pars and a bogey in round two, and is in a four-way tie for fourth. For the tournament Gradecki – who birdied two of his last five holes before making the turn on Saturday – is tied for the lead with 29 pars. Gradecki’s two birdies came on par-5s (No. 14 and No. 18), while he bogeyed the par-4, 416-yard No. 4 before ending the round with five consecutive pars. 

“I did not play as well as I did yesterday, but I stayed patient during the round and made some big saves,” said Gradecki, who is searching for his first collegiate win. “I'm happy to still be in contention for tomorrow's final round after not having my best today. We also had better day as a team. Hopefully we can build on that and finish strong.” 

Three players are tied atop the leaderboard at 6-under-par 136 as Florida’s Sam Horsfield and Andy Zhang both carded a 4-under 67 to jump seven spots up the board. Alabama’s Josh Sedeno posted a 68 for the second straight round to move into a tie with the pair of Gators – who are both ranked in the top-60 via Golfstat. 

Alabama holds the team lead after 36 holes as the Crimson Tide shot a 12-under 272 on Saturday en route to moving to 18-under-par 550 for the tournament. The Crimson Tide have a one-shot advantage over No. 6 Florida and a three-stroke lead over tournament host and 3^rd-ranked Vanderbilt. 

ETSU moved two spots up the leaderboard into 10^th, as the Bucs recorded a 3-over 287 and sit 16-over-par 584 after the first two rounds. 

Junior Cayman Ratliff (Kingsport, Tenn.) shot an even-par 71 in round two and is tied for 41^st (+3), while Trevor Hulbert (Orlando, Fla.) is tied for 58^th (+9) after registering a 1-over 72. 

Freshman Kevin Burns (Canton, Ga.) – who is playing as an individual – began his round with back-to-back birdies before turning in an even-par 71. Burns is tied for 45^th at 4-over-par 146. 

The Bucs begin Sunday’s final round at 9:15 a.m. (Eastern) as ETSU is again grouped with Southern Illinois and Miami University. The teams tee off from No. 10. 

Live scoring of this weekend’s tournament is provided via Golfstat, while recaps for each round will be provided on ETSUBucs.com. Twitter updates will be available by following @ETSUAthletics. 

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