COLUMBUS, Ga. - After two completed rounds of play here Monday at the AFLAC/Cougar Invitational hosted by Columbus State University, Florida Southern stands sixth out of 18 teams after posting a score of 581 through 36 holes at the Country Club of Columbus.
After shooting a 299 in the first round to stand in 13th place, the Mocs rebounded to shoot a two-under 282 in the second round to jump seven spots on the leaderboard. The 282 shot by the Mocs in the second round was tied for the lowest second round score as Columbus State also shot a 282 in the second round. FSC enters Tuesday's final round just six shots behind second place West Florida (575) and 18 shots behind tournament leader, Columbus State (563). Other teams in front of FSC on the leaderboard are Lee University, who shot a 576 for two rounds to stand third, while Georgia College & State and Lander each carded 579's to stand tied for fourth place.
This year's AFLAC/Cougar Invitational features four teams ranked in the latest Golf World/Nike Golf Division II Coaches Poll and eight other teams that received votes in that same poll.
Leading the way for the Mocs through two rounds is senior All-American Tim Crouch (Mt. Vernon, Ohio), who fired a five-under par 66 in the second round to push his two round total to 136 and move into first place as he has shot six-under par through the first 36 holes. Crouch, who was the NCAA Division II National Champion medalist at last year's NCAA D-II National Championships, finished second at last year's AFLAC/Cougar Invitational. He was one of just 13 golfers to shoot par or better in the first two rounds on Monday.
Crouch opened the tournament by shooting a one-under 70 in the first round to stand tied for seventh, before carding a tournament-low 66 in the second round to move to the top of the leaderboard. For the day, Crouch recorded 12 birdies, including seven in the second round, four bogeys and a double bogey.
In addition to Crouch, Lander's Robert Prior has shot a four-under 138 for 36 holes to stand two shots behind Crouch in second place, while Columbus State's Yannick Gumowski stands in third after shooting a three-under 139 for 36 holes.
Along with Crouch, sophomore Austin Schultz (Lakeland, Fla.) opened with a 73 in the opening round, before carding a one-under par 70 in the second round to move into a tie for 13th place with a one-over 143. Schultz was tied for 29th after the first round. The third scorer for the Mocs was redshirt sophomore Alex Carpenter (Westerville, Ohio), who shot a seven-over 149 to stand tied for 36th place as he carded round of 78 and 71 respectively, while the fourth counter for the Mocs was freshman Jason Huntington (Lakeland, Fla.) who shot a 153 for 36 holes to stand tied for 58th. Huntington opened with a 78 in the opening round, before shooting a 3-over par 75 in the second round.
The final golfer for the Mocs was senior Shane Convery (Ponte Vedra, Fla.), who shot a 158 for 36 holes to stand tied for 78th place. Convery shot a 78 in the first round and then carded an 80 in the second round.
FSC's fivesome will tee off on Tuesday beginning at 8:50 a.m. from the first hole at the Country Club of Columbus. The Mocs will play the final round with Lander and Georgia College, who are each tied for fourth place after the first two rounds.
