G-MAC Championship 1st/2nd Round Results (PDF)
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio – In historic fashion, the talents from Trevecca Nazarene senior Aaron Burnett were put on display as the first two rounds of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship ended on Monday.
Burnett stole the show with an eye-raising 67 (-5) to grab control of the individual lead and give the Trojans a leg up on the rest of the competition in the team standings.
He totaled seven birdies in his second round alone to settle with a two-round total of 4-under par (73-67--140).
Burnett’s 36-hole total also gives TNU the top two individuals so far after Payton Williams, the leader after the first round, is currently in second place four strokes back of his teammate.
“The putter was working real well,” Burnett said. “You can’t go low without making putts. I made a couple lucky bombs and made a couple good par saves. The putter really saved me today.”
The 2013 G-MAC Men’s Golf Championship record of 69 fired by Stephen Williams of Trevecca Nazarene ultimately fell by two strokes.
Burnett also matched the conference’s all-time best 18-hole scoring record set earlier this year by none other than Payton Williams at the Phoenix Invitational (March 22).
The Trojans have their eye on the desired prize -- a fourth consecutive conference championship trophy, but will have to hold off a number of teams hoping to dash those dreams in the third and final round tomorrow.
The Trevecca Nazarene men are looking to validate their spot in the NCAA Midwest Region rankings currently at No. 10 and a strong performance could certainly boost their stock.
“Four-peating for conference would be awesome,” Burnett added. “I just wanted to put my team in the best position we could to go on to regions. It means a lot to us and our program; we want to do the best we can. I’m proud of what we did today as a team.”
Cedarville is currently in second at 602, just 13 strokes back of the pace set by Trevecca Nazarene at 589.
The Yellow Jackets have been led by Jordan Reese and Taylor Holt in the top five while last year’s individual runner-up, Adam “James” Jeffries from Alderson Broaddus, is currently in fourth place with a 148.
AB is currently third in the team race with a first-day total of 619; Logan Lojszczyk of the Battlers led all players with 25 pars. Davis & Elkins (631) possesses fourth place as James Sutherland (73-78) is locked into a tie for sixth. Kentucky Wesleyan and Ohio Valley each have players tied for 10th in Chris Morgan and Jorge Herrera to round out the six-team field.
Herrera recorded two eagles on the day; TNU’s Logan Martin also recorded one of his own.
The G-MAC Golf Championships banquet on Sunday night at the Embassy Suites in nearby Blue Ash set the stage for the league’s fourth annual event. Each head coach had their moment on the floor to speak about the current season and the student-athletes under their leadership.
Under sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures without a cloud in the sky, fair skin was put to the test as the afternoon wore on and last year’s windburn was replaced by sunburn on some of the competitors.
Tuesday’s final round will begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m. EST.