Mocs lead in Carpet Capital

ROCKY FACE, Ga. — Mark Guhne once roamed The Farm Golf Club in relative anonymity as a coach without a team in the Carpet Capital Collegiate tournament.

A year ago, his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga finished in the top 10.

Today, his Mocs lead by three shots in one of the most prestigious college events in the nation. It includes 14 teams ranked in the top 30.

Guhne picked up assistant coach David McKenna in a golf cart and drove off into the woods after his final player putted out.

“We had to high-five and do a little dance,” Guhne said. “We’ve known for a while that we had the kind of team that could get to this point and be this competitive. This is another, a new, place for us to be.

“We belong here.”

Opposing coaches — some who would barely wave at Guhne when he wandered the course alone a few years ago — sought him out Saturday to congratulate him on a solid round by his players.

UTC golfers combined to shoot a 5-under-par 283 on Saturday, and they now stand at 2-under 574. They are the only team under par. No. 14 ETSU is three shots back and No. 7 Clemson is four shots behind the Mocs.

“There’s a little pressure because we used to not be able to get in this tournament and it was a big deal when they let us in last year,” said Mocs senior Jonathan Hodge, who is tied for eighth at 1-under 143. “A lot of great teams have won here, and I see UTC as a great program now.”

The 12th-ranked Mocs are in front of national powerhouses such as No. 1 Georgia (585), No. 6 Florida (589) and No. 10 Georgia Tech (594).

But they haven’t won, so celebrations needed to be subdued and private.

There are still 18 holes to be played by five golfers from each team, with the four best scores counting. Alabama needed a playoff to beat South Carolina last year.

The Mocs did not celebrate after they finished their second round. They grabbed some barbecue, watched a little football and then hit the range to hit some balls — business as usual at a tournament.

“The teams that are here are way too good for us to just sit and protect the lead,” Guhne said. “We need a couple good rounds and a couple solid rounds, and everything will fall into place.

“If we can play like this again tomorrow, then I’ll take my chances.”

Clemson senior Kyle Stanley shot a tournament-best 66 Saturday and has a two-day total of 5-under 139 for the individual lead.

“His round kept us within firing distance of the lead,” Clemson coach Jordan Byrd said. “This final round ought to be a blast. We had a losing record head to head against Chattanooga last year, but we have a chance to win this time.”

UTC freshman Stephan Jaeger from Baylor is tied for second at 141 with David Dragoo of Georgia Tech, Zach Sucher of UAB and Chris Paisley of Tennessee. UTC senior Ben Rickett shot a 69 and is tied for 12th at 144.

Former McCallie star Adam Mitchell of Georgia shot a 71 and is tied for 18th at 145. Teammate Harris English from Baylor shot 72 and is tied for 35th at 148. Former Dalton star Matt Hughes shot a 75 for Alabama and is tied for 26th.

“We’ve been in this position before and know how to deal with an over-night lead,” said Rickett, who is a co-captain with Hodge. “We’ll have to play our own game and do what we’ve been doing. We’ve been good on courses where par leads.”

And UTC is 2 under par. Everybody else is over par.