Mocs Stand 14th After First Day of The McDonough Cup

ORLANDO - Florida Southern opened up play here Monday by firing a 589 for 36 holes to stand in a 14th place out of 16 teams following the opening day of action at the 2013 McDonough Cup hosted by Rollins College and held at Eagle Creek Golf Club.

The Moccasins, who are ranked 11th in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Division II Coaches' Poll, opened the tournament by shooting a 296 in the first round, before carding a 293 in the second round of action. After the first round, the Mocs were tied for 13th place, but fell one spot on the leaderboard despite improving its second round score by three shots.

Florida Tech holds the lead after the first two round as the Panthers shot a 572 for 36 holes to lead by one shot over No. 4 ranked Nova Southeastern (573) and two shots in front of 16th-ranked Armstrong Atlantic (574). No. 22 ranked Lander is fourth after firing a 576 and No. 7 ranked Columbus State is fifth with a 577.

This year's tournament field features 14 schools mentioned in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf poll, including nine schools ranked in the Top 25. The other ranked teams competing include No. 1 Barry, who shot a 580 to stand seventh, while No. 3 Lynn is tied for eighth after shooting a 582, No. 14 Flagler shot a 582 to stand tied for eighth and No. 19 Rollins shot a 578 to stand in sixth place.

Entering Tuesday's final round of play, FSC is one of 11 teams within 12 shots of fifth place Columbus State, who shot a 577 and 10 teams are within 10 shots of first day leader, Florida Tech.  

Leading the way for the Mocs was senior All-American Tim Crouch (Mt. Vernon, Ohio), who shot a two-under par 142 to stand tied for eighth. Crouch opened the tournament with a two-under par 70 in the first round, before carding an even-par 72 in the second round. One of the highlights of the second round for Crouch was an eagle on the par-5 No. 13 as he drilled a 20-foot putt to card one of seven eagles at the tournament on the day.

Crouch was one of 24 golfers to finish the day with a score of par or better, including 20 golfers finishing under par for 36 holes.

Lander's Robert Prior share the lead after 36 holes as he carded a six-under par 138 (68, 70) to stand two shots in front a four players that shot a four-under par 140. The four players that shot 140 for 36 holes were Carson-Newman's Jonathan Kim-Moss, Columbus State's Yannick Gumowski, Florida Tech's Joe Ellis and Lynn's Jose Andres Miranda, who was the first round leader after shooting a six-under par 66.

In addition to Crouch, senior Shane Convery (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) shot a 148 for 36 holes to stand tied for 43rd place. Convery shot a one-over 73 in the first round, before shooting a 75 in the second round. Convery entered the final three holes of the second round standing at one-over, but finished the round by recording two bogeys and a par. Sophomore Alex Carpenter (Westerville, Ohio) shot a 149 to stand tied for 53rd as he fired rounds of 77 and 72 respectively and freshman Eric Yarrows (Easthampton, Mass.) fired a 150 (74,76) in his first two collegiate rounds to stand tied for 59th place.

The final golfer for the Mocs on Monday was sophomore Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla.), who shot a disappointing 155 for 36 holes stand tied for 74th place. Schultz struggled with his putter on Monday as he recorded rounds of 77 and 78 respectively.  

FSC will complete play in The McDonough Cup with 18 holes on Tuesday morning at Eagle Creek.