Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Middle Tennessee
Elon Phoenix Invitational
Blue Raiders in third after two rounds in Burlington
10/14/2024 9:51:00 PM | Men's Golf
BURLINGTON, N.C. – The Blue Raiders fired rounds of even-par 284 and 3-under-par 281 to sit in third place at 3-under-par 565 after the opening day of the Elon Phoenix Invitational at Alamance Country Club. Senior JJ Zimmer and redshirt junior Markus Varjun led the Blue Raiders at 3-under-par 139 and are tied for 10th.
UNC Greensboro is atop the leaderboard with a 36-hole total of 13-under-par 555. East Carolina is second at 6-under-par 562, while the Blue Raiders are in third at 3-under-par 565.
ECU's Carter Busse leads the individual standings with a 36-hole total of 10-under-par 132. He is followed by Long Island's Arjun Singh Bhatia at 8-under-par 134 and Old Dominion's Philip Minnehan at 7-under-par 135. Zimmer and Varjun lead MTSU at 3-under-par 139 and are tied for 10th.
The Elon Phoenix Invitational concludes with a final round on Tuesday, Oct. 15. Middle Tennessee will be paired with UNCG, ECU and Elon, and tee times will begin at 7:30 a.m. CT via a shotgun start.
The Lineup
• Senior JJ Zimmer paced the Blue Raiders with an opening-round 1-under-par 70 and second-round 2-under-par 69. Zimmer is tied for 10th place at 3-under-par 139.
• Redshirt junior Markus Varjun also led the Blue Raider with an opening-round 2-under-par 69 and second-round 1-under-par 70 to sit tied for 10th place at 3-under-par 139.
•Freshman Thad Whitfield carded an opening round of 2-over-par 73 and second round 1-under-par 70. He is tied for 20th at 1-over-par 143.
• Redshirt sophomore Sheldon McKnight posted an opening round of 1-over-par 72 and second round 2-over-par 73 to sit tied for 35th at 3-over-par 145.
• Redshirt junior Carter Maneth carded rounds of 3-over-par 74 and 1-over-par 72 to sit tied for 40th at 4-over-par 146.
• Freshman Charlie Bell rounded out the Blue Raiders with rounds of 2-under-par 69 and 8-over-par 79 to sit tied for 60th at 6-over-par 148.
Coach's Comments: Mark McEntire
"I was happy with our rounds today," said Head Coach Mark McEntire. "JJ and Markus had a very solid day. The course and conditions were difficult. The wind was gusting and made it hard to get anything going. Our plan tomorrow is to focus in more on the par 3 and par 5 holes and see if we can get in the mix."
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Players Mentioned
