Blue Raiders take lead in second round of C-USA Championship

Tuesday, April 25

Texarkana, Texas

Middle Tennessee

Conference USA Championship

4/25/2023 2:14:00 PM | Men's Golf

Top three outright individuals represent MTSU

By: Thomas Donley, MT Athletics

TEXARKANA, Texas — Middle Tennessee men's golf took over the top of the leaderboards in the second round of the Conference USA Championship on Tuesday. The Blue Raiders moved from second place to first in the team standings, as Owen Stamper, Gavin Clements and Kevin Jegers finished the day as the top three outright individuals.

Playing in cool, cloudy conditions, Middle Tennessee shot a combined 287 (-1) in the second round and hold a 36-hole score of 580 (+4). The Blue Raiders hold a three-stroke lead over second-place Charlotte and Louisiana Tech and have a nine-stroke cushion to remain in the top four and advance to match play.

Stamper moved up four spots into the individual lead Tuesday with a round of 70 (-2). He picked up five birdies in the round and has a one-stroke lead over Clements at 143 (-1) heading into the third round.

Clements made par on 16 of 18 holes in the second round, finishing the day with a score of 73 (+1). He is in second place at 144 (E) heading into the third round.

Jegers equaled the lowest individual score of the second round with a 69 (-3) Tuesday, moving up 23 spots on the leaderboard to third place. He carded five birdies and 12 pars in the round, wrapping up the round in third place at 145 (+1) through 36 holes.

Michael Barnard shot a 75 (+3) while picking up three birdies Tuesday. He is tied for 26th individually at 150 (+6).

Carter Maneth was a late addition to the Blue Raider lineup after Markus Varjun injured his knee during warmups. He carded a 77 (+5) in the second round.

By the Numbers
33 – The Blue Raiders are tied for the most birdies in the field with 33.
-6 – Stamper has been the tournament's best player on par 5s, going 6-under on those holes.
-1 – Clements leads the field with a 1-under mark on par 4 holes.
-1 – Jegers is tied for the best mark on par 3 holes at 1-under.

Coach's Comments: Mark McEntire
"I am very proud of this team today. During warmups, Markus hurt his knee, and we had to sub in Carter with short notice, but the team pulled together and we got great rounds from them today! Excellent round from Kevin and Owen. Gavin gave us another great round as well."

Tournament Notes

Needing to remain in the top four to advance to match play, MTSU has an nine-stroke lead over fifth-place North Texas.
The last team to win the C-USA team title and have the individual champion was North Texas in 2015.
The third round begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday.

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