Kats in fifth after 36 holes in Fort Collins
9/18/2017 10:16:00 PM | Men's Golf
Ram Masters Invitational
Monday, Sept. 18 – Tuesday, Sept. 19 • 54 Holes
Fort Collins, Colorado. • Fort Collins Country Club • par 70 • 7,218 yards
Leaderboard • Live Scoring • @BearkatsMGolf on Twitter
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Sam Houston State started hot but cooled down slightly in the second round and sits in fifth after 36 holes at the Ram Masters Invitational presented by Pederson Toyota from the par-70, 7,218 yard Fort Collins Country Club.
The Bearkats (12-over, 572) sit seven strokes back of fourth-place TCU while the entire field will be chasing host Colorado State who set a tournament record with a first-round 268 and leads at 12-under, 548, heading into Tuesday's final round.
For a second consecutive tournament, William Holcomb finds himself in the top-20 after Day 1. The sophomore (70-72) sits in a five-way tie for 19th at 2-over, 142, and is 10 shots off the lead, held by Missouri-Kansas City's Francois Lagraulet (67-65 – 132).
Levi Valadez (71-74) carded a 5-over, 145, and is tied for 35th despite being just three strokes back of Holcomb. Noah Steele (72-74) is tied for 38th at 6-over, 146, while Austen Christiansen (67-80), who sat within the top-10 after his opening round, is tied for 42nd at 7-over, 147.
Jake McCrory is also part of the 16-way tie for 42nd at 7-over after jumping 28 spots up the leaderboard with his strong second round. The senior followed an opening-round 75 with a second-round 72.
Missouri-Kansas City is currently in second (2-over, 562) and Wyoming is one stroke back in third (3-over, 563). Northern Colorado (13-over, 573) and Denver (14-over, 574) are both within reach of the Bearkats in sixth and seventh, respectively.
The final round gets underway Tuesday at 9 a.m. CT with McCrory getting it started for Sam Houston at 9:50 a.m. Christiansen tees off at 10 a.m. followed by Steele at 10:10 a.m. and Valadez at 10:20 a.m. Holcomb, who finished tied for fourth last time out, will begin at 10:30 a.m.
QUOTEABLES:
Head coach Brandt Kieschnick on the first two rounds…
“I was just making sure our guys were making good decisions and were competing. We were around third until the end of the last round. It's a different climate and altitude. The greens are totally different grass. We've had to adjust. We wanted them to compete and they did that really well today. Colorado State is good and it's on their home course. The guys are confident we can shoot a good round tomorrow. They do the places after 54 holes and we have a game plan.”
Head coach Brandt Kieschnick on the mindset entering Tuesday…
“It's all about the greens. We just need to make our adjustment there. We're all about one shot at a time. We're going to try to win the day. We have a chance to win the day and place as well as we can. You never know what can happen.”
Head coach Brandt Kieschnick on William Holcomb's opening day…
“No one can keep that guy down. He is playing on a broken foot. He is leading us this week on a broken foot. He is a picture of the ultimate competitor. He has great golf IQ and ball control. When you have his heart and mind, he is even harder to beat. All those guys have that same heart and soul.”
