May 10, 2024
Cobras shoot 6-under; stand 2nd in NCAA Regional
GAINESVILLE, GA -- The Coker men's golf team fired rounds of 1-under and 5-under on a marathon 36-hole day Friday and is second of 20 teams in the NCAA DII South-Southeast Super Regional.
The Cobras, ranked 21st nationally, dropped a 74 in the first round and a 73 in the second round while carding rounds of 287 and 283 at the Chattahoochee Golf Club. They trail North Georgia, the nation's top team all season, by six shots heading into Saturday's final 18 holes. Coker's 5-under afternoon round in high winds was the best in the vaunted field, which includes six top 10 teams and 15 of the top 25 teams in the country.
North Georgia (-12), Coker (-6) and 14th-ranked Florida Southern (-2) will be in the final pairing off the No. 1 tee beginning at 12:40 p.m. Saturday. Those were the only three teams to break par for 36 holes after Thursday's play was rained out. Defending National Champ Nova Southeastern, ranked 12th, is fourth at +3 and 13th-ranked Saint Leo is fifth at +5. The top five teams earn a berth in the NCAA DII National Championship at Orlando County National later this month.
"Our guys played like the veterans they are today," Coker head coach John Hackney said. "We started out well and never let up. We were never lower than sixth place and finished the first round in fifth place. In the afternoon, Caleb Tidd rattled off four straight birdies and our team had 11 birdies in our first seven holes as we climbed into a dead heat with North Georgia. It stayed that way for most of the back nine until they rolled in some birdies on the last few holes to move ahead."
Tidd, the South Atlantic Conference medalist this season, continued his strong play, shooting 70-71--140 (-3). He is tied for fourth place of 108 golfers and junior Derek McGlaughlin is tied for sixth at 72-70--142 (-2). Super Senior Killian Ryan, an individual regional qualifier last season, posted 73-70--143 (-1) and is tied for 9th, so three Cobras are in the top 10.
Senior Aaron Teece shot 72-73--145 (+1) and is tied for 17th and senior Jonathan Hallinger is tied for 28th after firing 74-72--146 (+2).
McGlaughlin got the mojo going early for the Cobras. After sinking a 12-foot bogey putt on his first hole (13) in the shotgun start, he eagled No. 16 and birdied 1 and 4 to go 3-under. He lost a few shots coming in, but his early spark charged up the Cobras. Meanwhile, Tidd hit 10 approach shots inside 15 feet in the first round and finally got the putter going late, rolling in birdies on his last two holes for a 70. He had seven birdies overall.
Ryan was on point with his short game, getting up and down 13 of 16 times while averaging just 27 putts. Hallinger had six birdies, hit 26-of-28 fairways and 26-of-36 greens. Teece hit 13 greens each round and birdied three straight late in his second 18 holes.
Coker made 12 birdies and an eagle in the first round and caught fire in round two with a season-best 21 birdies. The 33 birdies was only bested by North Georgia, which had 34. The Cobras were first in par-4 scoring at even par, second in par-3 scoring at +9 and fifth in par-5 scoring at -12.
"Our veteran squad is playing its best golf at the right time of year," Hackney said. "Our experience really showed out there today in a pressure-packed event against some unbelievably talented teams. One more good round and we will be playing for the National Championship."