Texarkana, ARKANSAS – A day after struggling on the finishing holes, the Louisiana Tech golf team had a strong ending to its round two on Tuesday, catapulting the Bulldogs into a tie for second through 36 holes at the 2023 Conference USA Men's Golf Championship.
 
LA Tech shot +6 as a team on the final three holes in round one.  That was definitely not the case in round two as the Bulldogs shot -4 to finish the day shooting 287 (-1), jumping one spot up on the leaderboard to be in a tie with Charlotte at +7 going into the third and final round of stroke play.
 
The 'Dogs, who are three strokes back of the leader Middle Tennessee, needs to finish in the top four at the end of round three to qualify for Match Play on Thursday.  UAB, who LA Tech is paired with tomorrow, is in fourth at +12 while North Texas is in fifth at +13.
 
After not having his round count on day one, Thomas Henson was the lead Bulldog on day two.  The junior went from shooting a 79 (+2) with zero birdies in round one to carding a 70 (-2), which tied for the fourth lowest score of the day at the Texarkana Country Club.
 
Another bounce-back performance came from fifth-year senior James Swash who shot 71 (-1), a round that saw him finish with three straight birdies on holes 16, 17, and 18.  He is currently tied for fourth individually at 146 (+2), just three strokes back of first.
 
Both Hunter Battles and Will Patrick improved in round two as well, shooting 73 (+1) apiece.  Patrick is right Swash for the team lead at 147 (+3), which puts him in a tie for 11th individually.  Battles shaved five strokes off his round one score, sinking five birdies in round two including three in the final five holes.
 
Despite shooting a 78 (+6), Lake Juban is tied with teammate Patrick and four others for 11th individually at 147 (+3).    
 
NOTABLES

• LA Tech is tied for second going into the third and final round of stroke play. It ties for the highest placing through the first two rounds in their Conference USA Championship history (were tied for second at the 2016 C-USA Championship).
• LA Tech's 287 in round two is tied for the third lowest round of the championship.
• Thomas Henson recorded his 11th round at or under par this season, the most of any Bulldog.
• LA Tech produced 19 birdies in round two, tied for the third most in a single round this season.

UP NEXT
LA Tech will be paired up with UAB for the third and final round of stroke play on Wednesday.  The first Bulldog tees off at 8:40 a.m. CT.
 
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