KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Two-time defending champion Davidson extended its lead to nine strokes in the second round of the 2023 Atlantic 10 Men’s Golf Championship, behind the surging play of current field leader Alex Heffner.
 
The Wildcats improved by three strokes over day one, shooting a 281 for a two-day total of 565 (-11). Loyola Chicago also bested the opening round score, firing a 285 to stand in second place at two under with a 574. VCU is in third place with a 579 and George Washington is fourth with a 580. Richmond improved as a team by 11 strokes and move into fifth place with a 583.
 
Heffner, who entered the day in third place, shot a 67 to finish the second round with an eight-under 136 and a four-shot lead over a three-way tie for second place. Richmond’s Cole Ekert, GW’s Jakub Hrinda and VCU’s Ugo Malcor each tallied a 140 to tie for second. Davidson’s Brian Garrett had the low round of the tournament so far, carding a 66 in round two.
 
The final round is scheduled to begin Sunday at 7:30 am with a double tee format off of holes 1 and 10. The winner receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.
 
Loyola Chicago had a pair of players that moved into the top five. Timmy Crawford carded a 68 and Charlie Kulwin recorded a 69 to tie for fifth at 141 along with Richmond’s Drew Carlin. Davidson’s Will Davis, one of the co-leaders after the first round, and Jayce Hargrove of VCU are tied at eighth with a 142. And Erik Stauderman from LUC and Garrett tied for 10^th with a 144.
 
Dayton and George Mason are tied is at sixth with a 594, followed by St. Bonaventure in eighth at 601 and Rhode Island in ninth at 602. Fordham (611), La Salle (614) and Saint Joseph’s (620) rounded out the team scoring.