MU men's golf in third after two rounds of Intercollegiate

The final round was at 8 a.m. Tuesday.

By Brian Haenchen

Published April 13, 2010

Missouri men's golf finished in third place two rounds of the Columbia Orthopaedic Group Mizzou Intercollegiate on Monday, trailing first-place Kansas State by five strokes heading into the final round Tuesday.

Behind strong performances from sophomore Chris Johnson and freshman Stuart Ballingall, the Tigers, at 5-under par, entered the second round trailing first-place Nebraska by one stroke. But the Tigers struggled in the second round with one player finishing with a score under par.

"I would say they tried a little too hard," assistant coach John Utley said. "They kind of got down early (in the second round), got over par, but hung in there and fought it out. They could have thrown in the towel and gotten angry, but they just kept playing."

Johnson in particular had a rough go after the first round.

"It was frustrating," said Johnson, who finished the day at 1-over par despite posting a team best 4-under in the first round. "Everyone expects you to consistently play really well like I did in the first round. Everybody thought I'd do it again in the second round, but it's still golf, it's not like it magically happens every round."

Playing at their home course, The Club at Old Hawthorne, for the first time put added pressure on some of the Missouri golfers.

"It's a lot different, because you have your family and friends watching you instead of being on the road where you only have your teammates and your coach," Johnson said. "Now you are surrounded by your family and friends, you feel like you're kind of under a microscope."

The event marks the first time Missouri has been able to play at its home course under optimal playing conditions this season.

"To say we're unfamiliar with the course would not be telling the truth, but we've just been playing in a swamp out here," Johnson said. "It took a little while to adapt, but we just didn't get it done today, not as well as we know we can."

Utley contended that despite the team's unfamiliarity with the course conditions, it still has an advantage playing at home.

"It's the first time we've seen the bouncing this year because of the weather, but we know which way they are going to bounce," Utley said. "It's still to our advantage that we play this course every day."

Junior William Harrold quickly adjusted to the dry course conditions and used the home course advantage, finishing the day tied for eighth at 1-under par.

"(The conditions were) awesome, really good," Harrold said. "It's been really wet, and the course got really dry because of the weather, and the greens were perfect, fairways were dry. It was awesome."

Despite the team's finish, Utley was confident that the Tigers could bounce back in the final round.

"I think they're fine," Utley said. "This is their home track. They just need to relax tomorrow and not try to force it and just let it happen."

The third and final round is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. Tuesday.