ISU men’s golf in third place after two rounds in Missouri

Mike Randleman;

After two rounds at the Columbia Regional Preview, the ISU men’s golf team sits 15 shots out of first place.

That’s not to say the Cyclones are necessarily playing poorly, as they are in third place out of 11 teams heading into Tuesday’s final round in Columbia, Mo.

“I was a little disappointed, but I also saw a lot of good signs out there,” said ISU coach Andrew Tank. “I know that we’re close to putting together a good team-round, we just haven’t quite done it yet.”

On the heels of a top-10 finish last week, freshman Nick Voke lead the Cyclones once again Monday. A three-under-par total of 141 was good enough to put him in a tie for fourth place.

After a four-under-par 68 in the first round, Voke was in a tie for first place. A second-round score of 73 dropped him a few spots on the leaderboard.

“In the afternoon round, he kind of got off to a poor start and I think he was pressing a bit and sort of compounded some mistakes,” Tanks said of Voke. “He got it together after that and made some birdies to finish one-over [in the second round], so I was really happy to see that.”

Junior Scott Fernandez, was also under-par for the Cyclones after carding a one-under-par total of 143.

After standing at three-over-par after 10 holes, Fernandez showed resiliency in finishing his last 26 holes at four-under-par.

“It was good to see him fight back after getting off to a bad start. He played pretty solid throughout the day,” Tank said of Fernandez. “I think overall, he’s still looking to put a low round up on the board and hopefully that will happen tomorrow.”

Junior Sam Daley and freshman Ruben Sondjaja also contributed to the team score and fired two-round totals of 145 and 148, respectively.

Redshirt junior Blake Waller filled out the starting lineup and carded an 18-over-par 162, which did not count towards team scoring.

Waller did have a highlight on the day, though, in recording an ace at the 177-yard par-three 16th hole in round one.

Collin Foster also participated in the event as an individual, shooting 13-over-par, good for a tie for 59th place.

For Tuesday’s final round, wind and rain are expected to dominate the forecast.

“I think the bad weather could actually play to our advantage. It gives you a chance to make up some shots if it is more difficult,” Tank said. “In the position we’re in, being as many shots off the lead as we are, I’d probably rather see it be windy and difficult tomorrow.”