University of Houston Athletics
University of Houston
White Sands Invitational
Houston Grabs Lead at White Sands Invitational
11/2/2019 2:13:00 PM | Men's Golf
Junior Luke Long tied for fourth after second straight round in 60s
| Scoring | Second-Round Results Pairings | Schedule |
|---|
| Team | Rounds | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | #39 Houston | 276 | 281 | 557 | -19 | |
| 2. | Florida State | 275 | 288 | 563 | -13 | |
| 3. | #1 Wake Forest | 282 | 282 | 564 | -12 | |
| 4. | Miami (Ohio) | 282 | 283 | 565 | -11 | |
| 5. | #2 SMU | 278 | 288 | 566 | -10 | |
| t6. | #22 Arkansas | 279 | 288 | 567 | -9 | |
| t6. | #46 UAB | 285 | 282 | 567 | -9 | |
| 8. | Wisconsin | 287 | 284 | 571 | -5 | |
| 9. | Illinois State | 287 | 285 | 572 | -4 | |
| 10. | Middle Tennessee | 279 | 295 | 574 | -2 | |
| 11. | Northern Illinois | 287 | 288 | 575 | -1 | |
| 12. | Georgia Southern | 286 | 294 | 580 | +4 | |
| 13. | Georgia State | 292 | 292 | 584 | +8 | |
| 14. | Louisiana Tech | 300 | 288 | 588 | +12 | |
| HOUSTON LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| t4. | Luke Long | 68 | 69 | 137 | -7 | |
| t9. | Alexander Frances | 71 | 68 | 139 | -5 | |
| t13. | George Gardner | 68 | 72 | 140 | -4 | |
| t35. | Logan Young | 69 | 75 | 144 | E | |
| t35. | Andrew Gibson | 72 | 72 | 144 | E | |
| t35. | Braxton Watkins (Ind.) | 71 | 73 | 144 | E | |
| t51. | Matt Cole (Ind.) | 70 | 76 | 146 | +2 | |
| OVERALL LEADERS | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |||
| 1. | Parker Gillam (Ind.) Wake Forest |
60 | 73 | 133 | -11 | |
| t2. | Charlie Nikitas Miami (Ohio) |
69 | 67 | 136 | -8 | |
| t2. | #94 Julian Perico Arkansas |
67 | 69 | 136 | -8 | |
| t4. | Luke Long Houston |
68 | 69 | 137 | -7 | |
| t4. | Jordan Less Northern Illinois |
68 | 69 | 137 | -7 | |
| t4. | Nick Robinson (Ind.) Wisconsin |
66 | 71 | 137 | -7 | |
NASSAU, Bahamas – The University of Houston Men's Golf program used another sub-par score in the Second Round of the White Sands Invitational to grab the team lead at Ocean Club on Saturday afternoon.
The 39th-ranked Cougars posted a score of 7-under 281 for a 36-hole total of 577, six strokes ahead of Florida State and seven strokes in front of No. 1 Wake Forest.
Miami (Ohio) (565), No. 2 SMU (566), No. 22 Arkansas (567), No. 46 UAB (567), Wisconsin (571), Illinois State (572) and Middle Tennessee (574) rounded out the Top 10.
Junior Luke Long posted his second straight round in the 60s with a 69 Saturday and was tied for fourth at 7-under 137. Starting his day off No. 1, Long overcame a birdie on No. 3 and returned to even par with a birdie on the par-5 sixth hole.
He added another birdie on No. 13 and closed out the day with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 17-18 for his team-leading fourth round in the 60s this season.
Junior Alexander Frances posted the team's low round of the day with a 68 and surged into a tie for ninth at 139. The Stege, Denmark, native overcame his lone bogey of the round on his second hole of the day at No. 4 with back-to-back birdies on Nos. 4-5.
Frances went on to add three more birdies on the back nine on the way to his low round of the fall season.
Senior George Gardner was tied for 13th at 140. Junior Andrew Gibson shot even par for the second straight day and was tied with teammates Braxton Watkins and Logan Young for 35th at 144.
Senior Matt Cole was tied for 51st at 146.
Wake Forest's Parker Gillam continued to hold the individual lead at 11-under 133 to stand three shots in front of Charlie Nikitas (Miami (Ohio)) and Julian Perico (Arkansas).
The three-day, 54-hole tournament wraps up with a 7 a.m. (CST) shotgun start Sunday.
This is the end of a busy week for Houston Golf in the Bahamas. Houston Women's Golf hosted its own White Sands Invitational on Monday through Wednesday at the Ocean Club.
LIVE SCORING
Fans can follow live scoring at the White Sands Invitational by clicking here.
FINAL-ROUND PAIRINGS
For Sunday's Second Round, the Cougars will compete in groups with student-athletes from Florida State and No. 1 Wake Forest.
Long starts the day at 7 a.m., (CST) Sunday, off No. 1, with Gardner (first group off No. 2), Frances (second group off No. 2), Young (No. 3) and Gibson (No. 4) following. Cole begins off No. 17, while Watkins will start off No. 18.
Complete Final-Round pairings can be found by clicking here.
UP NEXT
Following the White Sands Invitational, the Cougars will take a break from competition before opening the spring season at their own All-American Intercollegiate at Golf Club of Houston in Humble, Texas, on Feb. 16-18, 2020.
It will be the first of four tournaments, which the Cougars host, including the Border Olympics (Feb. 24-25), Cabo Collegiate (March 1-3) and Valspar Collegiate Invitational (March 16-17).
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMGolf on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMGolf. Fans also can follow the team on Instagram at uhcougarmgolf.
Players Mentioned
