HARMONY, Fla.—Defending champion VCU took over first place Saturday in the second round of the 2015 Atlantic 10 Golf Championship, being played Harmony Golf Preserve. Sunday’s final round will begin at 7:30 am with teams starting simultaneously on holes one and 10. The winner will receive an automatic berth into the NCAA Regionals.
Led by junior Adam Ball’s 10-under score, the Rams have a 572 (286-286) and three-stroke lead over second-place Davidson, which led the field in the first round. The Wildcats have a two-day total of 575 (284-291). Richmond surged into third place with a 286 on Saturday, equaling VCU with the best round of the day. Spider freshman Matthew Lowe carded a 67 in round two to lead UR’s rally from its seventh place finish on day one. Richmond has a two-day total of 580 (294-286).
Dayton (289-293) and St. Bonaventure (288-294) are tied at fourth at six-over 583 rounding out the top five. Like Richmond, George Mason also surged, climbing three spots in the standings by improving their day-two score by nine strokes. The Patriots, in sixth place, have a two-round total of 583 (296-287).
Ball maintained the lead with a 10-under 134 (66-68). George Washington’s Jack Persons and La Salle’s Tony Aizpun are tied for second overall with a five-under 139, five strokes behind Ball. Persons, who was tied with Ball for the lead after the first round has a 66-73 while Aizpun tallied a 68-71. Saint Joseph’s Brian Turley climbed from 12th to fourth in the rankings with a four-stroke improvement to score a 140 (72-68). Mason’s Brock Kovach is in fifth with a 141 (70-71).
There were seven eagles during Saturday’s second round, bringing the two-round total to 10, but no player has more than one. Ball and Aizpun, neither of whom have an eagle, lead the field with 13 birdies each.