MGOLF | Dons Build Momentum with Strong Back Nine - University of San Francisco Athletics

Friday, April 30

Lake Las Vegas Golf Club | Henderson, Nev.

University of San Francisco

Round Two

Photo by: Christina Leung

MGOLF | Dons Build Momentum with Strong Back Nine

4/30/2021 3:31:00 PM | Men's Golf

Day 2 Results (Golfstat.com)Follow Men's Golf on Twitter Follow Men's Golf on Instagram Like Men's Golf on Facebook

HENDERSON, Nev. – A sluggish start to the second round saw the University of San Francisco men's golf team fall from third to fifth. Fortunately, the No. 25 team in the nation rebounded with a brilliant back nine to finish the day three back of second place BYU after shooting a 7-under 281. After 36 holes, the Dons remain in third with a 17-under 559 (278-281).

The front-9 was less than ideal. Matthew Anderson opened Dons' play with a double-bogey on one. Toby Briggs went bogey-par-bogey, and stalwart Tim Widing began his round with a triple bogey on the par-3 third.

While the Dons were mired in their mini-slump, the teams below made a run with San Diego and Saint Mary's briefly pushing USF to fifth place. Even after all that, USF remains just one of two teams in the tournament to have all five players at par or better, including three in the top-10 and are poised to make a run on Saturday.

Soren Lind began the Dons charge in later half of the day. Lind opened his day with three-straight pars before carding three-straight birdies to finish the front-9 2-under. Lind continues to dominate on the front-9 making it five-straight rounds he has been under par to on the front.

After a bogey on nine and 11, he birdied 12 and 18 to sandwich five-straight pars to finish the day 3-under, moving him up three spots on the leaderboard for a tie at eight. After 36 holes, Lind has an 8-under 139 (70-69).

Alex Chin moved up one spot on the leaderboard after shooting his second-consecutive round 2-under par. Chin shot a 70 thanks to strong finish. After recording a birdie on nine to finish the front even, he shot a 2-under on the back thanks to five birdies. After two days, Chin has scored a 4-under 140 (70-70).

Widing began the day the co-leader but fell nine spots to 10^th after shooting a 2-over 74. Immediately after his triple on three he recorded a birdie on four and went on to birdie seven to finish the front-9 two over. On the back he finished 1-over thanks to a bogey on 11 and a double-bogey on 16. After two days, Widing has shot a 4-under 140 (68-74).

Anderson overcame his rough start to shoot his best round of the tournament so far. The Dons' third year finished the day with a 2-under 70. Following his double-bogey on one he was flawless carding birdies on three, 10, 17, and 18 along with pars on the rest of the holes. After two rounds, Anderson is tied for 23^rd with a 1-under 143 (73-70).

Briggs solid afternoon began on the seventh. After opening 3-over, Briggs birdied the final three holes on the front-9 to get back to even. On the back-9 a birdie 12 was negated by a bogey on 15 to see him finish even for the day. After two rounds, Briggs is tied for 26th with an even par 144 (72-72).

No. 8 Pepperdine remains in first. The Waves finished the second day shooting a 16-under 272. After two days, Pepperdine has a 35-under 541 (269-272). The individual leader is the Waves' Clay Feagler with an 11-under 133 (68-65).

The Dons will once again be paired with the leaders, BYU and Pepperdine for the final round tomorrow morning. Toby Briggs will tee off at 8:40 a.m. to begin the final round. Live results can be found on Golfstat.com or by visiting the men's golf schedule page.