MOBILE, Ala. – After a strong first round ended with a tough finish, Jacksonville University men's golf turned in a strong afternoon, climbing three spots to fourth in the standing after 36 holes at the ASUN Men's Golf Championship on Tuesday.
Joseph Sullivan turned in a second-round 66, tied for the fourth lowest postseason score by an individual in program history and sits T6 with one round to play. The team's 36-hole score of 553 is the best in the ASUN Championship in program history.
Sullivan was sitting in the top-10 after the first round, shaking off a bogey on his second hole to turn in a 68. He followed the bogey with birdies on three of his next four holes, and was 2-under after the front nine. After the turn, he sank birdies again on the Par-4 11th and Par-5 13th holes, before closing his opening 18 with five straight pars.
He opened up his second round with three birdies on the front nine, and after making the turn, completed a stretch of five straight pars. After giving a stroke back on the Par-4 12th, he closed the day strong, making two pars and four birdies on his last six holes, including a stretch of three straight red numbers from holes 14-16. His 3-under scoring on Par-4s was the best on the team and tied for sixth overall.
Filip Raza rode an up-and-down first round and matched his teammate Sullivan with an opening 68. He started hot, with a birdie on the first hole, and added another on the Par-5 4th. After giving a stroke back on hole five, he sank two more birdies over his next three holes, before a double bogey to close the front nine. From there he went nuclear, making red numbers on his first three holes of the back nine. After three straight pars, he made his eighth and final birdie of the first round, before closing the round par-bogey.
He started the second round with a birdie on his second hole, and added two more on his front nine. He opened the back nine with another red number, and went par-par-birdie immediately after that. He wrapped thro und with three pars and a birdie in his final five holes for a second round 68. He shot 2-under on Par-3s, tied for the best score overall on the day. His 7-under scoring on Par-5s was also tied for second in the field. He also led the team with 14 birdies.
Daniel Montalvo was steady in a first round full of low numbers, making par on seven of his first nine holes. His lone birdie of the opening round came on the Par-4 10th, and from there he consistently sank pars, making eight straight to end the round.
He was the third-biggest mover in the second round, climbing 26 spots on the leaderboard thanks to a 4-under 68. He was par-or-better the entire front nine, making three birdies. He opened the back nine with a bogey, but made consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th holes and finished the day with five straight pars. His 27 total pars led the team and was fourth best in the field.
Alexandre Vandermoten made three birdies on his front nine of the first round, making one bogey in between. He started the back nine on a heater, making birdie on three of his first four holes. He closed the round giving back some, with a bogey on the Par-3 14th and a double bogey on hole 18.
He shot even-par in the second round, bouncing back from a pair of early bogeys. He made his first birdie of the second 18 on the Par-5 6th, and rattled off nine straight pars after that, finishing with a birdie on the Par-5 16th and closing with two more pars.
James Dulin started his day with six straight pars, and made par on 10 of his first 11. His lone opening round birdie came on the Par-5 16th, with 14 total first round pars. He had three more birdies and nine pars on the second round.
The Dolphins were third-best on Par-3s and Par-5s for the day, shooting 1-over and 20-under, respectively. JU's 44 total birdies was also third-best in the field.
Tomorrow's final round is scheduled for a start at 9:50 a.m., with Dulin teeing off first.
