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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Led by junior Jeff Dennis, the University of North Florida golf team made a charged up the leaderboard of the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational on Monday, finishing with a team score of 289, the low round of the tournament.
The Ospreys will enter the final round of play only two strokes behind defending champion Alabama, which tied UCLA for the second best round of the day at 293. The Bruins are three strokes behind UNF heading into the final round of play with a two-day score of 588. Charlotte (591), Tennessee (591), Pepperdine (592) and Georgia State (592) are still right in the mix, setting up a race to the finish Tuesday.
The field had to endure a one hour and 50 minute rain delay in the morning, but that didn’t slow down Dennis, who tied a tournament low with a 69 on Monday. He enters Tuesday’s final round tied for eighth and two strokes behind teammate Michael O’Neal.
O’Neal finished strong after a four-putt on the 15th hole led to a double bogey. He made up for that with three-straight birdies to close out the round, narrowly missing a 20-foot putt for eagle on the 18th He will begin the final round three strokes behind Georgia State’s Joel Sjoholm, who maintained his individual lead on Monday, shooting his second-straight round under par. Sjoholm shot 70 Monday, highlighting his day with an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole.
A group of five players trail Sjoholm and O’Neal at 1-under-par, including Alabama’s Michael Thompson, who came into the week as the top-ranked player in the latest Golfstat rankings.
Good things came in threes for the Ospreys on Monday. Chris Kennedy birdied three-straight holes out of the rain delay to help him jump 21 spots in the standings into a tie for 47th with a 73.
Dennis also went on a birdie run, sinking a 40-foot putt on No. 12 for birdie and a 30-footer on the 13th hole for his third straight. Dennis carded a bogey on the seventh hole, his first hole after the delay, but recovered from there, finishing his round with four birdies and a bogey on the back nine. Dennis shot a 75 to open play on Sunday, but with the exception of a quadruple bogey on his second hole of the tournament, he has played the event 4-under-par.
Jordan Gibb posted a 75 for the Ospreys, while Major Forbess followed him with a 77 to round out the team scoring for UNF. J.C. Horne and Jacob Davidson – both competing as individuals – posted a 72 and 75, respectively for the Ospreys.
Play begins at 8 a.m. on Tuesday with UNF, Alabama and Tennessee set to tee off in the final group at 9:30 a.m.
Quotables
Georgia State’s Joel Sjoholm
“I’ve been trying to keep myself out of trouble this week. The wind really played with your mind today.”
South Carolina’s Mark Anderson
“I had a good round. I was pleased and I did what I needed to do. There was no catching [Georgia State’s] Joel Sjoholm today, he played almost picture perfect. I will need to get more putts to drop tomorrow.”
UNF head coach Scott Schroeder
“We played well today. Before the rain delay most of the holes were playing down wind, but after the rain we were playing back into wind. We had some good birdies after the delay and got some good momentum going. We had our struggles on the 15 hole, but there will always be a hole or two that will get you. Jeff Dennis played a very good round and has played good for two days except one hole on which he made a quadruple bogey. Michael O’Neal four-putted the 15th and birdied the last three, which was big for us to help us finish strong.
UNF’s Jeff Dennis
“I was pleased with my ball striking today. I started to make some long putts and after that things started to go my way. I started hitting the ball well after the rain delay. The fact that I got some food in me might have helped. As a team, we haven’t been in this situation in a while. Everyone is playing well and we are in a position to give it a run. The key for us is to just not try to force it.”
UNF’s Michael O’Neal
“It was huge for me to birdie the last three holes and help the team and myself out today. My double bogey on 15 was the low point of my day, but to rebound with three birdies is huge for my confidence going into tomorrow. I’m really happy for Jeff Dennis and everyone else one our team. For Jeff to tie for the low round of the tournament is awesome. It wasn’t easy out there today. Before the rain delay, the wind was blowing the same direction as yesterday. After the delay, the wind was blowing in the same direction that it usually blows. It never calmed down after the rain delay, it stayed windy.”