When Penn State senior JD Hughes starts making birdies, he
can make them in bunches.
The Carlisle product followed that formula to his victory in
the 2017 Pennsylvania Golf Association Amateur Championship at White Manor
Country Club.
And Hughes was at it again Saturday in the second round of
the Linger Longer Invitational on The Landing Course at Reynolds Lake Oconee in
Greensboro, Ga. Hughes only had a single par on the front nine of The Landing
Course, which is 6,991 yards and plays to a par of 72.
But he made six birdies, including the last four in a row at
the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth holes, against two bogeys to make the turn
at 4-under 32. He was more efficient on the back nine with birdies at 13, 14
and 16 along with six pars as he matched the low round of the day and of the
tournament with a 7-under-par 65. He had nine birdies, that’s half the holes.
The round vaulted Hughes, who matched par in the opening
round with a 72, into a share of the individual lead at 7-under 137 along with
Alabama’s Josh Sedeno, a junior from Roseville, Calif., and Liberty’s Alexandre
Fuchs, a sophomore from France.
Sedeno added a 5-under 67 to his opening round of 2-under 70
to get his share of the individual lead. He also sparked the Crimson Tide, No.
24 in the latest Golfstat rankings,
to a sparkling 12-under 276 that put them atop the team leaderboard at 12-under
564.
Alabama, the runnerup in the Southeastern Conference Championship
and in the NCAA Championship at Karsten Creek Golf Club a year ago, had opened
with an even-par 288 before putting together the low team round of the
tournament, which concludes with another single round Sunday.
Alabama’s SEC rival Georgia, at No. 15 the highest-ranked
team in the field, No. 21 Liberty and No. 25 Louisville are tied for second at
8-under 568, four shots behind Alabama.
The Bulldogs added a 5-under 283 to their opening round of
3-under 285, the Flames added a 2-under 286 to their opening round of 6-under
282 and the Cardinals, who had grabbed the lead with an opening round of
10-under 278, added a 2-over 290 in Saturday’s second round.
North Carolina Greensboro, continuing to outperform its
No.-88 ranking, is alone in fifth at 5-under 571 after adding a 1-over 289 to
its opening round of 6-under 282.
With Hughes going low, No. 68 Penn State was able shave four
shots off its opening round of 1-over 289 with a 3-under 285 that left the
Nittany Lions alone in sixth place at 2-under 574.
Penn State’s Big Ten rival, No. 53 Ohio State, added a 2-over
290 to its opening round of 5-under 285, leaving the Buckeyes alone in seventh
place in the 15-team field at 1-under 575.
Backing up Sedeno for Alabama was William Furr, who fired a
3-under 69 after matching par in the opening round with a 72 to join the group
tied for 11th at 3-under 141. Jake DeZoort, a sophomore from
Tuscaloosa, Ala., carded his second straight even-par 72 and is among the group
tied for 22nd at even-par 144.
Prescott Butler, a freshman from Old Westbury, N.Y., had
opened with an 83 Friday, but he gave the Crimson Tide a huge boost by putting
that round behind him and firing a 4-under 68 that left him in the group tied
for 60th at 7-over 151.
Rounding out the Alabama lineup was Frankie Capan III, a
freshman from North Oaks, Minn. who added a 78 to his opening-round 74 to land
at 8-over 152 among the group tied for 64th.
Liberty’s Fuchs was almost as hot as Hughes as Fuchs fired a
sizzling 6-under 66 to get his share of the top spot at 7-under 137. Fuchs had
opened with a 1-under 71.
Louisville’s Jiri Zuska, a freshman from the Czech Republic,
had grabbed the lead in the opening round with a 7-under 65. He cooled off a
little with a 1-over 73 to share fourth place with Mercer’s Stanton Schnorr, a
senior from Columbus, Ga., and Ohio State’s Caleb Ramirez, a senior from Blythe,
Calif., at 6-under 138, just a shot behind the top three. Schnorr carded a
second straight 3-under 69 while Ramiriez added a 4-under 68 to his opening
round of 2-under 70.
Georgia’s Spencer Ralston, a junior from Gainesville, Ga.,
was alone in seventh place at 5-under 139 after adding a 3-under 69 to his
opening round of 2-under 70.
Backing up Hughes for Penn State were Alec Bard, a junior
from New Hartford, N.Y., and Charles Huntzinger, another of coach Greg Nye’s
senior stalwarts from Duluth, Ga., both of whom landed in the group tied for 25th
at 1-over 145.
Bard, who had been the Nittany Lions’ low man in the opening
round with a 2-under 70, backed off with a 3-over 75 Saturday. Huntzinger, who
has been a mainstay in the Penn State lineup for four years, posted a solid
1-under 71 after opening with a 74. Huntzinger has struggled at times in the
early part of the spring schedule and he is a vital cog for Penn State.
Senior Ryan Dornes, the 2014 PIAA Class AAA runnerup as a
senior at Manheim Township, added a 2-over 74 to his opening-round 73 to end up
in the group tied for 38th at 3-over 147. Ryan Davis, a junior from
Berkeley Heights, N.J., hasn’t found the range on The Landing Course and a
second straight 77 left him in the group tied for 72nd at 10-over
154.
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