Click here for a photo gallery from the second day of the NCAA Southeast Regional
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Chris Piumelli bounced back from an opening-round 77 to fire a career-low 4-under-par 66 Friday on the second day of the NCAA South Regional, helping the University of South Alabama men's golf team move up to a tie for fourth place in the overall standings.
Playing in the first group on the course, the sophomore posted five birdies and only one bogey for the lowest individual score of the event, which is being held at the 7,182-yard, par-70 Capital City Club Crabapple Course. It marked the third time this season that Piumelli has shot a sub-70 score, and first since he recorded his previous career low of 68 at the USF Invitational on March 6.
It was also the lowest round by a USA player in the NCAA championships - Gareth Maybin (2003) and D.J. Nelson (1999) held the previous standard after each shot a 67 for the Jags in regional action - while coming within two strokes of V.J. Singh's course record set in October 2003.
"I got off to a hot start and played great today," said the left-hander, who is now tied for 18th place in the individual standings. "I played smart and with patience, it was a much better day overall. Yesterday was such a grind for me, I was missing fairways and scrambling the entire day. I had a much better chance today because I hit fairways and could take shots at some pins.
"More than anything, I worked with coach on trusting what I'm doing, on being more patient whether I miss a couple of tee shots or putts.
"This round tears that one apart," he continued, referring to his performance in Tampa. "This course is much, much harder. If you're not patient, with the way the pins have been hidden and the greens run off you can make a bogey with a wedge in a heartbeat. I'm just really proud of the way I played today."
Starting on the 10th tee, Piumelli moved to 2-under-par with birdies on the 11th and 13th holes. A bogey on No. 16 gave him a 34 on the front nine, but he answered with a stretch of three birdies in four holes to match the second-lowest score recorded by a Jag this year. On the par five fourth, Piumelli put a wedge from 135 yards within two feet of the cup and sank the putt for a four, and following a par he carded a two on No. 6 after a six iron left him with three feet for another birdie. He recorded his final birdie on the next hole with another approach shot within three feet.
"For Chris to bounce back from his 77 yesterday to shoot a 66 today, what can you say? I'm tremendously proud of him," Jaguar head coach Ben Hannan said. "He hit a lot of good shots and made putts. Chris is a superb player, he did a good job of staying patient because even when you're 4-under-par you still have to do out here.
"I walked with him through five holes, and once I saw what he was doing I got out of his way. It was a tremendous round on a championship golf course. I'm very happy for him."
Marc-Etienne Bussieres shot his second straight 1-over-par 71, which was equaled by McLain Leberte, as USA finished with a 4-over-par 284 team total to move from a tie for seventh place entering the day into a tie for fourth with Brigham Young. Final-round action Saturday will begin at 6:30 a.m., although the Jaguars will start at 6:50 with BYU and No. 28 Arkansas.
Bussieres and Leberte found different ways to get to their final score in the second round - the latter had back-to back bogeys on Nos. 5 and 6 before posting a three on the par four seventh hole, which matched the former's total in each category before he made the turn. Bussieres had a birdie at No. 12 after hitting a wedge to within a foot of the hole, but gave up shots at the 14th and 16th to make the turn 1 over. He birdied both the second and seventh holes on the front nine, although he followed each with a bogey.
Bussieres is tied for 12th among the 75 individuals competing with a 36-hole 142 total, while Leberte is tied for 34th place three strokes behind.
"It wasn't too much of a battle, overall I hit the ball okay. Once again, I took opportunities when I had a wedge in my hand - three out of four times when I used a wedge I made a birdie," Bussieres stated. "I had two three-putts which led to unfortunate bogeys. I just aimed at the center of the green most of the time. You could be a little bit more aggressive today, but I kept the same strategy as yesterday.
"I'll probably do the same thing tomorrow."
"Ball striking and consistency was the difference for me today," commented Leberte. "I came out with the same mindset that I closed with yesterday, to keep it in the fairway and pick and choose which greens to go after and which to hit to the middle. My speed on my putting was a lot better today too - if I didn't hit it close, I was able to lag it up there within a couple of feet, tap it in for par and move on to the next hole.
"I thought the pins were a little more accessible today, yesterday they were tucked and placed on ridges. The rain made the course play a little longer, which I felt was to my advantage too, since I'd like to think I'm a long ball hitter. There were a couple of holes where I was hitting a pitching wedge and the guys I played with hit six irons, that really helped."
Jack Hiluta shot a 76 over the second 18 holes, giving him a 147 score after two rounds, as he had a birdie putt on No. 17 hit the back of the cup and pop out as well three birdie putts just miss on the final four holes. Blake Kelley - who did sink a birdie putt on the seventh - added a 77 and has a two-day 152 total entering the last day of the tournament.
"The guys played really well today, I'm really proud of this team for hanging in there and fighting," Hannan observed. "On a golf course like this, it is so much about perseverance because you're going to hit good shots and get a bad bounce that leads to three-putts. You have to keep on grinding."
The top five teams as well as the low individual not on those squads will advance to the NCAA national championships that begin June 1. No. 20 Clemson used the low round of the event, a 2-under-par 278, to take over the lead in the team standings with a 1-over-par 561 total. The Tigers lead fourth-ranked Oklahoma State by three shots entering the last 18 holes, with the Jaguars and BYU three strokes behind No. 14 Georgia Tech. Arkansas and ninth-ranked Arizona State sit two shots in back of USA and the Cougars.
"It's been fun. We came here with the idea that we have an opportunity we can take advantage of," said Hannan. "We've really played pretty well all year, to be honest. We've had some really good rounds, it just seems like we start in the back of the bus the first round.
"This is why we came - we didn't come to just show up, have four days of fun in Atlanta and go home. We expected to come and compete. The game plan won't change, it's going to be about patience and picking when to attack. And with a young group, it's going to be about handling emotions. We have a talented young team with good leadership at the top, tomorrow will be a great day no matter what happens."
"I'm excited [about tomorrow] because every one of our guys is very good, we can all play well at any given time," Piumelli added. "It's a great opportunity, it should be fun. We played well the last day at [the Sun Belt] conference [championships] to come from behind and win, which gave us a lot of confidence - we've continued to keep it rolling."
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
-USA-
NCAA Southeast Regional
Capitol City Club Crabapple Course, Alpharetta, Ga.
Par 70, 7,182 yards
Team Scores: 1) Clemson 283-278-561 (+1); 2) Oklahoma State 282-282-564; 3) Georgia Tech 287-286-573; T4) South Alabama 292-284-576; T4) Brigham Young 289-287-576; T6) Arkansas 296-282-578; T6) Arizona State 290-288-578; 8) Georgia Southern 288-293-581; 9) Wake Forest 292-291-583; T10) Furman 292-294-586; T10) Mississippi 301-285-586; 12) Towson 308-282-590; 13) Coastal Carolina 293-302-595.
Individual Leaders: 1) Robbie Fillmore, BYU 68-69-137 (-3); T2) Peter Uihlein, OSU 68-70-138; T2) Logan Blondell, GSU 69-69-138; T2) Jamie Marshall, UA 71-67-138; T5) Scott Pinckney, ASU 69-71-140; T5) Crawford Reeves, CU 72-68-140; T5) Jonathan Randolph, UM 68-72-140; T5) Ben Martin, CU 71-69-140; T5) Morgan Hoffman, OSU 71-69-140; T10) John Tyler Griffin, GT 68-73-141; T10) Lee Bedford, WFU 70-71-141.
South Alabama Scores: T12) Marc-Etienne Bussieres 71-71-142 (+2); T18) Chris Piumelli 77-66-143; T34) McLean Leberte 75-71-146; T40) Jack Hiluta 71-76-147; T63) Blake Kelley 75-77-152.
