Braden Thornberry of Ole Miss
(Ole Miss Athletics Photo)
PRINCEVILLE, HI (October 31, 2016) -- With four players under-par No. 21 Ole Miss has opened up a 13-stroke lead at the Warrior Princeville Maki Invitational. The Rebels are 23-under after two rounds at the Makai Golf Club at Princeville.
Leading Ole Miss is third place Braden Thornberry. The sophomore put together a second round 7-under 65 to reach 8-under and move within two-strokes of the medalist lead. The sophomore started on No. 2 and he got his day going with an eagle on the par-5 5th and a 6th hole birdie. Now at 4-under for the week, Thornberry continued to keep the peddle to the mettle with five more birdies and only a single bogey.
"Braden really had a special day out there," said Ole Miss head coach Chris Malloy. "His 65 was very impressive."
On Wednesday Thornberry will look to continue his impressive fall, he won his last time out at the AutoTrader.com Collegiate Classic and he has finished in the top-five of every tournament this fall.
Also under-par for the Rebels are redshirt senior Noah West (T6; -6), senior Ben Wolcott (T9; -5) and redshirt sophomore Josh Seiple (T18; -2).
"I am so proud of the guys for fighting through the day once again," said Malloy. "We faced some challenges in the middle of our round today that I thought we did a great job of staying positive and aggressive. We want to take it one round at a time and we have had the low round of the day the first two days. That's pretty impressive. I know that they are excited to get out and do the same thing tomorrow."
The medalist race is being paced by Missouri junior Hayden Buckley. So far Buckley has combined rounds of 66-68 to reach 10-under and lead by one. In his 4-under second round Buckley birdied three-times, bogeyed once and recorded an eagle on the par-5 5th.
First round leader Mateusz Gradecki of East Tennessee State is in second place and one behind at 9-under. Behind the third place Thornberry are Sam Houston's State Andrew Ertel and Dominick Gennuso, both 7-under and tied for fourth.
In the team standings No. 21 Missouri (-10) and Sam Houston State (-10) are tied for second, No. 25 Arizona State (-4) is fourth while Louisville (-2) is fifth.
-Ole Miss Athletics contributed to this story
ROUND ONE RECAP
At the Warrior Princeville Maki Invitational No. 21 Ole Miss has taken a five-stroke lead following one round of play. The Rebels teamed for an 11-under first round at the Makai Golf Club at Princeville.
Four Ole Miss players are currently residing in the top-16 after under-par rounds. Redshirt senior Noah West was the best of the bunch firing a 4-under 68. West reached 6-under with six birdies in his first 11-holes before he dropped two shots on the way home.
Tied for eighth are redshirt sophomore Josh Seiple and senior Ben Wolcott. The pair shot 3-under 69's. The final red figure Ole Miss player is sophomore Braden Thornberry at 1-under.
East Tennessee State's Mateusz Gradecki has set the individual pace by shooting a bogey-free 7-under 65. Gradecki began his round on No. 2 and promptly birdied the hole. His six other birds came on Nos. 5, 6, 8, 9, 18 and his final hole, the first.
Utah State's Blair Bursey and Missouri's Hayden Buckley are tied for second at 6-under with another four players sharing fourth at 4-under.
The top-five team standings are rounded out by Georgia Southern (-6) in third, No. 24 Missouri (-5) in fourth while Louisiana (-1) and Sam Houston State (-1) share fourth.
Shot of the Day: San Diego's Nick Baines recorded a hole-in-one on No. 5 with a 202 yard 5-iron.
ABOUT THE Warrior Princeville Makai Invitational
54 hole men's college tournament hosted by the
University of Hawaii. Team (best four scores out of five
players each round) and individual competitions.
View Complete Tournament Information