The Bobcats played consistent golf in the first two rounds of the Mid-American Conference Championships.
But they'll need more than that to keep up with the likes of Kent State and Eastern Michigan.
Ohio finds itself in third place after the first two rounds of the MAC Championships after firing a plus-17 593. They trail the leader Golden Flashes by 19 strokes halfway through the tournament, with Eastern Michigan trailing Kent by a slim six strokes.
The Bobcats started out the tournament strong.
Junior Chad Warmbein shot an eagle on his first hole, and the momentum carried for Ohio despite terrible playing conditions. Junior Tim Gusweiler also started the tournament well with a birdie on his first hole.
Those two shots really set the tone for that round
coach Bob Cooley said.
With the momentum on their side, Ohio's plus-7 295 was only a stroke behind the favored Golden Flashes and also tied them with the Eagles.
Despite the terrible conditions we really put on a good performance Cooley said.
In the next round, however, the top two MAC teams were able to pull ahead of the pack, even as Ohio shot almost as well as they did in the first round.
Kent State shot eight under to finish the day at minus two, while Eastern Michigan shot three under to end atplus four.
Ohio's 298 was only three strokes more than their first round score, but they now find themselves in a deep hole despite it.
Kent's definitely a great team and all five of their players are phenomenal
Cooley said. We just need to eliminate some bad shots and mental mistakes and I think we can get closer to them.
After the first day, junior Stewart Jamieson and Warmbein are leading the way for the Bobcats. The two are tied for seventh with plus-three 147s.
We've had two or three guys play very well at various times in the tournament
Cooley said. But we're going to need all five in order to see us move up.
Kent's trio of John Hahn, Mackenzie Hughes, and Brett Cairns stand in the first three spots, with Hahn shooting an impressive minus five.
Although Ohio might be looking up from their third place position, they still have the final two rounds to try to make up ground.
Tomorrow we're paired with Kent and Eastern Michigan
so we'll get the chance to see just how good they really are
Cooley said. We just have to get after it.
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Sports
Will Frasure
