UTC men's golf takes SoCon lead

photo UTC golf coach Mark Guhne
Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's golf squad held a team meeting Sunday night after the Mocs completed the first round of the Southern Conference tournament.

By recounting their rounds and the observations of coach Mark Guhne and assistant David McKenna, everybody came to the same conclusion -- the tee shot is the most important shot on every hole at the Ralston Creek Golf Course in Daniel Island, S.C.

So the Mocs piped their drives or hit 3-wood off tee on Monday which propelled them to the top spot with one round to play.

"We were a lot smarter today and put the ball in play where it's supposed to be and took advantage of it," coach Mark Guhne said via phone. "If we do that again, we'll be pretty good."

The Mocs shot a 2-under 286 on Monday and stand at 4 over for the tournament. They lead Samford by nine shots, Georgia Southern by 13 strokes and Furman by 16. Most college coaches consider a 10-shot lead to be a safe lead heading into the final round.

"By eliminating mistakes off the tee, we should do well [today]," Guhne said. "Just get the ball in play and hit irons into the green -- if we go with that attitude we'll play well."

UTC senior Stephan Jaeger has a solid grasp of medalist honors. He shot 6 under on Sunday, followed with an even-par 72 on Monday and leads Furman's Austin Reeves by four shots.

Sophomores Chirs Robb and Benni Weilguni both shot 1-under 71 on Monday to help the Mocs make their move up the leaderboard. Liam Johnston also contributed a round of 72.

"We played sensible and smart and put up some good scores," Robb said. "I had three birdies in the last four holes so I played good today."

Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.

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