Windy conditions derail round two for Men’s Golf at Tennessee River Rumble
After an even par first round for C-N, strong winds caused trouble for the Eagles to land them middle of the pack after 36 holes.
LENOIR CITY, Tenn. – After an even par first round for C-N, strong winds caused trouble for the Eagles to land them middle of the pack after 36 holes.
The Eagles golf team had a strong start to the Tennessee River Rumble, using under-par rounds from Brady Wentz and Theo Baker to shoot even par as a team in the first round. Then in round two, the Eagles had trouble finding birdies for a 20-stroke difference between round one and two.
"The Eagles had a really, really nice first round today, followed by one of the worst rounds of the year in the afternoon, which is really disappointing," said head coach Randy Wylie. "The course got windier and tougher. Unfortunately, we did not."
In round one, Brady Wentz and Theo Baker both led the way with rounds of 71 (-1). Brady started his day on the par three eighth and made a bogey on his third hole of the day (number 9). He responded with a birdie at the 11th, and birdied three more holes after that to shoot 34 (-2) on the back.
Baker had a better front side than back, and recorded three of his four birdies on holes 1-9. On his second hole of the day, he birdied the par-four 9th before a bogey at the 14th. Thanks to another birdie at 16, the junior shot even on the back. His other two birdies were made on holes 3 and 7.
Bowen Wentz was also under par as an individual for the Eagles in the first round. The freshman made four birdies as well, kicking his day off with a birdie on the par four 15th and following that up with another circle at the par three 17th. A pair of bogeys at holes one and two were responded to by birdies on the par fives on the front nine. Bowen Wentz also ended round one at 71 (-1).
Baker and the Wentz brothers were tied at 6th place after the first round.
Ian Schoonmaker and Stefans Spruzs also recorded good rounds in the low 70's. Schoonmaker carded back-to-back birdies on the 12th and 13th holes before a short train of bogeys to come in at 39 (+4). He fired back with three birdies on holes 5, 7 and 8 to shoot 73 (+1).
Sprucz was similar, finding five bogeys throughout the day but chipping away with birdies at the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 12th holes. The sophomore was the final score to count in round one for C-N with a 73 (+1). Schoonmaker and Spruzs were tied at 30th in the 98-man field.
Dylan Frein had a challenging start to the day with a double at the par-four 10th. He followed that up with a bogey at the 11th but made birdie at the par-five 12th to work his score down. His second birdie of the day followed at the par-three 17th. He birdied consecutive holes on the 7th and 8th for an even 38-38 split to shoot 76 (+4) in round one.
The Eagles made 25 total birdies as a team in round one to shoot even par. They sat in 4th after round one, beating #34 USCB, #1 Grand Valley State, and #49 Lenoir-Rhyne, and #11 North Georgia.
The Eagles couldn't keep the momentum rolling into the second 18, though. C-N tied for the worst second round of any team in the field.
The two freshman Dylan Frein and Bowen Wentz led the way for the Eagles in round two. Because Bowen Wentz played as the individual, his round did not count toward the team score.
Frein cleaned up his first hole by a stroke, bogeying the par-four 10th. He sandwiched a birdie at the par-five 12th with two bogeys, but quickly went back to even par with an eagle at the par-five 14th. He rounded out his back nine with a birdie at the 18th to shoot 35 (-1). However, Frein made five bogeys on holes 1-9 with a birdie on the par-five 3rd for a 40 (+4) on the front. His total in round two was 75 (+3). The Florida native is +7 through 36, and he is tied for 51st.
Bowen Wentz (Ind.) kicked off round two with bogeys on the 15th and 17th. He made 7 pars on the front nine with a birdie at the 553-yard 3rd on the front to match Frein with a 75 (+3). Bowen Wentz is two-over in total and is the highest on the leaderboard in an Eagles uniform. He sits 19th.
Theo Baker had trouble finding a birdie in the second round. The Englishman made 12 pars throughout the day to shoot 78 (+6). Baker is +5 overall and 42nd in the standings.
Ian Schoonmaker began round two with a double at the 9th but made up for it with an eagle on the 556-yard par-five 12th. Schoonmaker hit a great drive on the 12th before sticking a hybrid to five feet and made the eagle putt. With that confidence, he also birdied the 16th to shoot even on the back nine. The front proved tricky, though; with no birdies, Schoonmaker shot 78 (+6). He is +7 overall and tied with Frein at 51st.
Brady Wentz was the final score to count for C-N in round two. Wentz was one-under through four holes, making birdie at the par-four 9th. A streak of bogeys from 11-13 was snapped with a birdie at the par-five 14th. That was the final circle of the day for Wentz, though. Four more bogeys on the front brought the junior in for a 79 (+7). Brady is +6 overall and 46th in the field.
Stefans Spruzs made just one birdie in the second round at the par-three 17th with two doubles that brought him in at 81 (+1). Spruzs is +10 after 36 holes and 71st overall.
The Eagles now sit 12th in the 18-team field at +22. They are three strokes back of Ferris State and seven back of both Lenoir-Rhyne and Union.
"We played as well as the best teams in the country in the morning, but couldn't maintain that, so that's the challenge going forward. Consistently stacking high-quality rounds on top on high-quality rounds," said Wylie.
Wingate leads the field at five-under. The hosts, Lincoln Memorial and Catawba round out the top three.
The final round of the Tennessee River Rumble begins tomorrow at 9:00 AM at Wind River Golf Club. The Eagles will be paired with Erskine, Ferris State, and Union (Tenn.) and begin on holes 7-10. You can catch the action in-person or follow along with live scoring on the SCOREBOARD Clippd website. Full coverage is available at cneagles.com or on social media @cneagles.
