Kyle Hogan (Texas Tech Athletics)
The second round of the Maridoe Invitational was vastly different from Sunday’s opening round. The day began rather chilly with temperatures dipping into the high 50s as overcast skies finally cracked through in the late afternoon to warm the grounds up to near 70 degrees.
Softer course conditions and little to no wind made for a completely different test for the players. Oklahoma’s Quade Cummins told AmateurGolf.com that Maridoe can play longer when it is soft, making for a unique challenge, no matter what crazy southern plains weather is present.
18-hole leader Luke Kluver stayed steady once again on Tuesday. Turning in an even-par 72 to pair with an opening 68, the Kansas Jayhawk freshman remains in the lead at 4-under, 140.
Related: Kansas' Kluver, Baylor Bears lead round 1 at Maridoe
Charging behind him are a handful of players at two under and even par. Leading the charge is Texas Tech’s Kyle Hogan who carded a 4-under 68. Playing as an individual, Hogan’s score does not count towards the Red Raiders’ team total; however, he is right in the thick of things when it comes to playing for the individual championship and the Houston Open exemption.
Hole Nos. 12 and 13 have been the enforcers so far this week. No. 12 played nearly a full stroke over par (4.85) on Sunday and gave up zero birdies and just 20 pars through 72 players. Monday’s second round was a similar story as just two birdies and 20 pars were counted to 33 bogeys, four double-bogeys, and two ‘others’.
Nabbing a birdie on the toughest hole on the golf course this week, Hogan gave it right back on the second hardest hole, the par-4 13th. The 13th hole has conceded just six birdies through two rounds while averaging a score of 4.55.
Early in the day, it looked as though the Baylor Bears were going to run away with the team portion of the event. Baylor took a near double-digit lead halfway through the second round before perennial power Oklahoma State gained their footing.
The Cowboys were 17-over par as a team through nine holes on Sunday. Managing to knock one shot off on the backside, the Pokes were 16-over to begin play in round two and five shots off of the pace-setting Baylor Bears.
As the tide turned on No. 10 Sunday, Oklahoma State kept things rolling as they secured a round of 69 from Austin Eckroat, a 75 (+3) from Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, and a pair of 72s from Brian Stark and Bo Jin for a team total of 288.
16 shots better than the day before, the Cowboys now sit atop the leaderboard holding a one stroke advantage over Baylor 592 to 593.
Non-attached players continued their quest towards the ever so sweet Houston Open exemption. Behind the eight ball compared to the attached collegiate players, there are a few contenders from their side of the leaderboard.
North Carolina’s Peter Fountain, Arizona State’s Chun An Yu, and Wake Forest’s Michael Brennan all have a puncher’s chance to make a run at the top spot on Tuesday.
The trio are all tied at four over par and leading the unattached player’s leaderboard. Chasing down Kluver and company from the attached side will be a tough task, but if there’s anything that can happen at Maridoe, it’s chaos.
The final round begins at 8:30 a.m. local time where two individuals and one team will be crowned champions of the inaugural Maridoe Invitational.
ABOUT THE
54-hole men's college tournament hosted by
the
University of North Texas. Team (best four
scores out of
five players) and individual competitions.
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