BROOKSVILLE, Fla. (SMU) – The SMU men's golf team posted a tournament-low 11-under, 277 on day two of the American Men's Golf Championship to close the round in first place. The score marks the best round of the day by five strokes, and the lowest of the tournament by one. The Mustangs improved on their first-round performance by five strokes, pushing past Houston to claim the top spot.
SMU was led by sophomore
Nathan Petronzio, who held onto first place in the individual standings shooting a tournament-low 66, bringing his tournament tally to 10-under and tying his career low.
Petronzio claimed eight birdies through the second round, totaling 14 through the first 36 holes, a tournament best. The sophomore hit par-or-better through 16 holes, carding a three-under through both stages of day two. Petronzio, along with teammate
Noah Goodwin, both lead the field on par fives (-7, 4.13 avg.). Petronzio posted the third-best individual performance on Southern Hills' ten par fours though the first two rounds (-3, 3.85 avg.).
Three Mustangs (Petronzio, Goodwin,
Holden Wisener) improved on their day one performance to provide the second-round surge into first place.
Noah Goodwin cut three strokes from his first day, one-under showing, closing the second round at four-under, 68 and finishing tied for sixth. Goodwin notched six birdies, including back-to-back on the opening two holes to claim an early two-under, and hit a clean sheet through the back nine. Ten birdies by an individual through the opening two rounds is the fourth-most of the field.
Wisener carded a three-under, 69, cutting five strokes from his first day. The sophomore claimed six birdies and hit par-or-better through 15 holes, moving up 15 spots in the standings to a T-13
th-place finish. Wisener's three-under showing at par fives (4.63 avg.) is the fourth-best of the field.
As a team, the Mustangs currently hold the low score at par fives (-18, 4.55 avg.) and par threes (+1, 3.03 avg.). 38 birdies through two rounds of competition is the highest team figure of the field.
Justin Thompson opens play for SMU in the final round with a 7:20 a.m. CT tee time, with the rest of the roster following every ten minutes after. ESPN+ live coverage of the final round begins at 9:50 a.m.
Head Coach Chris Parra:
"I think all the guys have hung in there. We've had some pretty tough conditions with some gusty winds, and some tricky pin placements. The course is playing a lot longer than last year, and I just think the guys are hanging in there. They're fighting."
Parra on Nathan Petronzio's performance and personal development:
"Nathan's a heck of a player. I've watched him grow a lot as a player. He's just so steady, and for that reason, I think we can always count on Nathan to be there in the hunt – And he should be in the hunt almost every week."
On playing for the team's first AAC title since 2014:
"It's going to be tough. "When you're playing with a lead, or fighting for a lead, you're going to get some bad bounces and putts are going to miss, but you just have to smile it off and move on to the next one."
| Position |
Team |
To Par |
Today |
Round One |
Round Two |
Total |
| 1 |
SMU |
-17 |
-11 |
282 |
277 |
559 |
| 2 |
Houston |
-16 |
-6 |
278 |
272 |
560 |
| T3 |
South Florida |
-3 |
-1 |
286 |
287 |
573 |
| T3 |
Wichita State |
-3 |
-2 |
287 |
286 |
573 |
| 5 |
UCF |
-2 |
-1 |
287 |
287 |
574 |
| 6 |
Cincinnati |
E |
-4 |
292 |
284 |
576 |
| 7 |
Memphis |
+5 |
+2 |
291 |
290 |
581 |
| 8 |
Temple |
+14 |
+5 |
297 |
293 |
590 |
| 9 |
East Carolina |
+16 |
+3 |
301 |
291 |
592 |
Men's Golf Prepped For AAC Tournament
Petronzio Atop The Leaderboard After Day One of AAC Championship
