Sept. 15, 2014 Results
CORDOVA, Tenn. - Victor Lange is tied for the individual lead at 4-under-par and Louisiana Tech is one stroke shy of the top team as action wrapped up through two rounds at the Memphis Intercollegiate Monday at the Colonial Country Club in Cordova.
Lange enters the final round tied with two golfers from Mississippi State with a chance to win his first individual title since the 2012-13 season while the Bulldogs as a team have a chance to claim a team title for the first time since claiming the Jim West Intercollegiate title on April 11, 2011.
Overall, LA Tech has two individuals in the top 10 and the team is sitting in a group of three teams at the top that are separated by two strokes.
"We just have to worry about our small process goals and not about the big picture," head coach Jeff Jenkins said. "If everyone can just worry about their own little piece of the pie, it will all come together. In this game I have found that things don't often go well for the guys that focus on winning and losing. We can't control what other teams will shoot but we can control how we play. Win or lose or no matter where we finish as a team, we have already made progress towards achieving the small goals we need now and that will reap much bigger benefits when it really matters in the spring."
Host Memphis leads the team scoring at 1-under-par 575 while Louisiana Tech follows with an even-par 576. Mississippi State - which finished last season ranked No. 54 or approximately 60 spots better than Tech - follows the Tech Bulldogs at 1-over-par 577. Memphis, a team that was ranked 57th at the end of last year, won the tournament title a year ago by 15 strokes but the Tigers find themselves in a dead heat with a pair of Bulldogs.
A junior, Lange opened the tournament with a 4-under-par 68 in the first round and then shot an even-par 72 in the second round to match the 4-under-par 140 scores Ben Wood and Fletcher Johnson recorded, both playing for Mississippi State (although Johnson is competing as an individual).
"Victor really played well in the morning," Jenkins said. "He said that he really struggled in the afternoon but to really struggle and still shoot an even-par on this course is a credit to the way he kept fighting. He is not afraid of the competition and not afraid of being in the moment and I am sure he will come out tomorrow with a great mindset and drive to play well."
With a pair of even-par 72 rounds, Ben Robinson is tied for 10th with Tanner Napier (Arkansas State) and Taylor Bibbs (Mississippi State). After having an up-and-down tournament last week with scores of 77-67-74, Jenkins is happy to see consistency out of the junior.
"Ben had two very, very good consecutive rounds today," the Bulldogs coach said. "Shooting back-to-back pars is a great step of progress for him, especially to do so on such a challenging course. To play well here you have to drive the ball well, have good irons, great speed and a great short game. Ben is doing all of those things well right now."
Chuck Spears hit an impressive 3-under-par 69 in the first round but also faced adversity with a 6-over-par 78 in the afternoon round to place him 3-over-par 147 for the day. The team's individual leader a week ago, Spears is still only three strokes away from a top-10 finish and has a chance to make up some ground in the final round.
Brandon Newton and John Lewis Sams both finished the day at 5-over-par with identical 149 scores although in mirrored fashion as Newton shot 74-75 while Sams shot 75-74. Both enter Tuesday's action tied for 34th place.
The third and final round of the Memphis Intercollegiate begins Tuesday at approximately 8 a.m. Live scoring is available at LATechSports.com.
For complete coverage of Bulldog Golf, please follow @LATechGolf on Twitter or visit the official home of Louisiana Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.
