Broncbusters in 14th after second round of NJCAA Championships
By Mike Pilosof
Melbourne, FL-He's been their best golfer all season long. But during the last round at Districts and the first round of the National Championships, Jake Bay found himself struggling to find his groove.
"I just tried to do way too much," he said.
But on Wednesday, the sophomore was back to his old self, bouncing back from an opening-round 81 to fire a 72 on day two, pushing his team into a tie for 14th place at the 2019 NJCAA National Championships at Duran Golf Course.
"I just told myself that I wasn't going to worry about everything," Bay said. "I felt a lot better today."
Bay was sharp from the get go, making par on his first five holes before chipping in a birdie putt on six to drop him to 1-under. Only a bogey on eight derailed an impressive first nine holes.
"The course really played the same as it did yesterday," Bay explained. "It was more windy today, but yesterday it was wet-so they kind of evened themselves out."
The sophomore saved his best for the back-nine, where he birdied three of the first six holes to drop him to 2-under for the day. But trouble lurked as he hit the home stretch. He bogeyed 17 before his approach shot on 18 nearly landed in the water. He ended up two-putting the hole to finish the day at even par.
"It's been pretty awesome so far-the chance to play for a National Championship," Bay said.
Vincent Wilhelm, who spent the majority of the opening round carrying his team with a sensational 2-under 70, came back to earth a little bit on Wednesday. He sat 1-over through four; then dropped in a birdie on five and another on nine. He rebounded from a bogey on 13 to par 14 and birdie 15. His only blemish from there was a missed par putt on 18, arguably the toughest hole of the day. He carded a 2-over and sits at even par for the tournament, tied for 25th.
"I'm pretty sure I can play better," Wilhelm said. "But I am really enjoying the experience. This is something that we worked the entire season for."
Besides Wilhelm, George Avgousti has been Phil Terpstra's most consistent golfer in Melbourne. The sophomore finished the day 2-over and sits tied for 41st at 3-over for the tournament.
"I've been good on the short putts-five, six, seven, eight feet," Avgousti said. "But I couldn't really make birdies from 20 or 25 feet. That was a struggle."
Despite some missed opportunities, Avgousti was 1-over through nine, thanks to a birdie on six. He missed a birdie putt on nine and failed to save par. But he bounced back with a beautiful, 12-foot birdie on 11. He shot 1-over through the final nine holes.
Shaydon Johnson had a rough stretch on Wednesday, including a double bogey on six that saw him launch his approach shot into the palm trees, resulting in a two-stroke penalty. He also doubled 11. He finished 6-over for the day and is 10-over through two rounds.
"Considering the double bogeys, I really grinded this one out," Johnson said. "I really felt like I was hitting the ball well off the tee."
Euan McBride fought through some adversity, improving his score by two strokes-tallying a 5-over 77 on Wednesday following his opening round 79. He birdied five and had another chance to do so on 18. But he missed a short putt and parred the hole, carding a 3-over, 39 on the backside.
"It's really simple, I need to keep the ball in play and hit more greens tomorrow," McBride said.