Ohio finished tied for 11th on Tuesday second round of the Pinehurst Invitational, afternoon, carding a 323, 17 strokes higher than its first round scores. Much to its credit, though, participants played Pinehurst No. 2, home to the 2014 men and women’s U.S. Open.
“It was pretty special [playing Pinehurst No. 2] and it was one of the toughest golf courses I’ve ever played,” said junior Connor Coldwater, who posted an 82, 12 strokes over par. “Being as windy as it is and literally playing U.S. Open lengths, it honestly couldn’t have gotten any harder.”
Scores showed a more difficult course, as all participating teams shot considerably higher. Senior Byron Firestone was the only person to shoot in the 70s for the Bobcats, carding a second-round 77, seven shots over par.
At one point, Firestone found himself in sole possession of second place, but after a string of bogies on the back nine, Firestone finished the day in a tie for sixth place.
Ohio sophomore Andrew Mlynarski started off with pars on three of his first four holes, but was plagued by a triple-bogey on the par-4 14th and finished with a 13-over 83.
Freshman Brad Burgess was second for the Ohio on the day, shooting an 11-over 81, the only Bobcat to improve from day one scores. Burgess, though, looks to tomorrow as an opportunity for all players to put up a good number.
“We’re just going to try and post a good team score tomorrow,” said Burgess. “I think we all had a difficult day today and we’re hoping to shoot well tomorrow.”
Ohio plays its final round Tuesday, as they return to Pinehurst No. 6 to finish out the three-day invitational. They are nine shots out of ninth-place, which would give the team its second top-10 finish of the spring season.
