University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics
Holiday Inn Express/CFSC Classic
Lawrence Shines At Stetson/CFSC Invitational
11/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
Nov. 2, 2009
DeLand, Fla. - Defending tournament champion Michael Lawrence turned in a 4-under-par 68 in the second round of the Stetson/CFSC Invitational Monday afternoon and stands tied for eighth just five strokes back of the tournament lead heading into the final round on Tuesday.
Lawrence opened the tournament, played on the 7,082-yard, par-72 Victoria Hills Golf Club, with a 75. But, as has become typical for the senior from Easley, S.C., made a tremendous comeback to shoot 68 in the second round and put himself in a position for a top 10 finish in the tournament. After starting the second round with a double bogey, he made six birdies over the next 17 holes to post a 68.
"Michael holed out his shot from the fairway on a par-5 after getting a difficult lie on his tee shot," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "As he was walking to his next tee, he told me that he needed to make some birdies. He started his second round with a double bogey and went off by himself to regroup. He rattled off six birdies in his last 17 holes for what was just a great round. He has always proven he can recover and go low. Everyone knows he can hit shots and makes birdies. He is very aggressive on the course which allows him to go low."
Lawrence's second round 68 helped Upstate shoot its second consecutive round under 300 in the tournament. The Spartans stand fifth in the nine-team field, carding 295 and 299 for a 594 36-hole total. Upstate leads sixth-place Rollins by 13 strokes.
All of the teams in the field are chasing Florida Gulf Coast. The Eagles turned in rounds of 283 and 281 to open a 19-stroke lead with a 564 total. Florida Atlantic and host Stetson are tied for second at 583 and are followed by Murray State (585), Upstate (594), Rollins (607), Jacksonville (610), Bethune-Cookman (614) and Lipscomb (621).
While Lawrence was the star of the day for Upstate, he was not the only Spartan to have a solid outing. Josh Gallman, who won the tournament title two years ago, is tied for 14th and will have to do a little work to earn his fifth top 10 finish in as many tournaments this fall. He opened with rounds of 72 and 76 to take a 148 total. He stands four shots out of a tie for 10th entering Tuesday's final round.
Matthew Hopper, a freshman from Gaffney, had quite a college debut, turning in rounds of 72 and 79 to stand tied for 19th and in position for a top 20 finish. Brian Horton is tied for 27th at 154, while Tyler Comer is tied for 31st at 156.
"Matthew is a competitor," said Lawton. "I have known since the day I started recruiting him that he would be an impact player. We talked today about how he loves to play tournament golf. He made some improvements in qualifying to get into the tournament. He went out first with a 72 to set the pace for us today for what was a great start to his college career."
Bethune-Cookman's Willie Mack takes the tournament lead into the final round after posting a 138 total and leads by two strokes.
