Feb. 22, 2010
MOBILE, Ala. — Kentucky freshman golfer Chase Parker repeated his impressive 1-over-par first-round score and senior Jordan Blann carded a UK tournament-low score of even-par 72, helping the Wildcats make a climb up the leaderboard to 14th after 36 holes at the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate on Monday.
Parker (73-73-146), who led UK after day one of the competition, holds the distinction again by posting back-to-back 1-over-par scores in the first and second rounds. Parker sits in a tie for 16th heading into the final round on Tuesday, looking for his second top-20 finish as a Wildcat. The native of Augusta, Ga., birdied three holes in the second round and increased his total number of birdies to five for the tournament.
Parker, who started on the 10th hole, was brilliant down the stretch, posting a 1-under-par score on the final nine holes. The freshman birdied the par-4 third and the par-5 sixth hole to sit at even par for the round with three holes to play. Heading into the final hole of the round, Parker bogeyed the par-4 ninth hole to go into the clubhouse with a 73 and at 2-over-par for the tournament.
The most impressive round of the day was turned in by Blann (78-72-150), who improved a dramatic six strokes in the second round. The 2009 Kentucky Golf Association Amateur Player of the Year, Blann carded a UK tournament-low score of even-par 72 in the second round after posting a 6-over-par score after the first 18 holes. The native of Bowling Green, Ky., jumped an amazing 22 spots up the individual leaderboard and into a tie for 46th.
Starting on the 10th hole in the second round, Blann made the turn at 2-over-par. The Wildcat birdied the par-5 fourth and par-4 third to shoot a 2-under par on the final nine holes and pull to even par for the round and 6-over-par for the tournament.
Junior Brian Belden (79-75-154), who held the lowest season-stroke average (of players with more than six rounds) heading into the tournament, also improved in the second round. The native of Emmaus, Pa., shot a 3-over-par 75 in the second round and jumped nine spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 68th.
Belden and sophomore Chase Carpenter, who was tied with Parker heading into the second round after shooting a 1-over-par in the first round, sits at 10-over-par for the tournament. Carpenter is playing as an individual in the tournament.
Sophomore Mads Kristensen (80-77-157) and senior Ben Fuqua (77-80-157) conclude the UK rotation with both players sitting at 13-over-par overall, good for a tie for 88th. Kristensen posted four birdies in the second round and is tied with Parker with a team-high five birdies for the tournament.
As a team, UK improved to 14th place for the tournament at 28-over-par. Southeastern Conference foe Ole Miss is in first heading into the final round with an even-par team score. Memphis and Vanderbilt round out the top three with a team score of 6-over-par and 9-over-par, respectively.
The Mobile Bay Intercollegiate will conclude on Tuesday with the final 18 holes of the 54-hole tournament. Play will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET time at Magnolia Groove Crossings Golf Course.
Live hole-by-hole scoring is available at ukathletics.com through golfstat.com.
