Blue Raiders in Top 5 at Irish Creek

Friday, April 2

Kannapolis, NC

Middle Tennessee

Irish Creek Intercollegiate

4/2/2021 7:13:00 PM | Men's Golf

Pairings Results (PDF)

By: @MTAthletics

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Middle Tennessee shook off a tough start to both rounds on Friday as late surges in the first and second rounds led the Blue Raiders back into the Top 5 at the Irish Creek Intercollegiate.

MT (+14) shot 9-over par 293 in the morning and followed that up with a round of 5-over par 289 in the afternoon to share fifth place with Davidson, East Carolina and James Madison thru 36 holes.

Tournament leader UNC Wilmington (+2) is 12 strokes up on the Blue Raiders with 18 holes to play on Saturday, while MT is within just two strokes of third place Jacksonville (+12).

"I'm very happy with the performances we got from Kevin (Jegers) and Cooper (Sears) today, and Tanner (Owens) provided a solid round for us as well," Head Coach Mark McEntire said. "The conditions on the course were difficult, but we didn't help ourselves out with a few too many mistakes. We need a good day tomorrow to gain some confidence and momentum going into the conference championship."

True freshman Kevin Jegers – coming off of a Conference USA Golfer of the Week performance at the Schenkel Invitational – leads the way for MT at 1-under par (69-72=141) and is tied for fifth in the field of 84 golfers.

Cooper Sears and Tanner Owens will tee off Saturday looking to move back into the Top 20 on the individual leaderboard, as each wrapped up day one in a tie for 23^rd at 4-over par.

Owen Stamper is 7-over par and just inside the top half of the field after rounds of 75 and 74, while graduate transfer Connor McKay is 13-over par (81-74=155) after 36 holes.

The final round at The Golf Club of Irish Creek begins with a shotgun start at 9:30 a.m. ET on Saturday. Live scoring can be followed at Golfstat.com.