HPU Men’s Golf: Hole in One Leads HPU to Fourth-Place after Day One

• Senior Emile Menard carded his first career hole in one on the 11th hole in the second round at the Links at Stono Ferry.
• Sophomore Brendan MacDougall tied for fourth in HPU’s Division I era posting a -5 (67) that featured five birdies and an eagle.
• High Point shot its second and third sub-par rounds of the season with a -2 (286) and -3 (285) and is fourth after the first 36 holes of the tournament.

HOLLYWOOD, S.C. – The High Point University men’s golf team carded two of its best rounds of the fall and sits in fourth after two rounds of The Battle at Stono Ferry on Friday.

The Panthers posted noteworthy individual performances in each of the rounds on the day. In the first, sophomore Brendan MacDougall tied for the fourth-best against-par round in HPU’s Division I history with a -5 (67). Then, on the 11th hole of The Links at Stono Ferry senior Emile Menard fired the first hole in one of his career.

“The guys played great team golf today and competed from sun up to sun down,” head coach Brady Gregor said. “We had several players in our lineup post their best career rounds in the toughest field of the year. It was excited to see Davis Kiger break through and get his first career round under par. This team is starting to see and believe they can compete with some of the top programs in the country. Plain and simple, we have to go out tomorrow and continue to play fearless golf as we look to finish well and take momentum into the offseason.”

MacDougall, who racked up five birdies and an eagle in the first round, finished the day tied for 11th in a competitive field (67-74, -3). Matching MacDougall stroke-for-stroke on the day, sophomore RJ Bartolomucci opened with a 72 before riding seven birdies to a second-round -3 (69) and also is tied for 11th with 18 holes to play.

Overall, the Purple & White are Ffourth in the 11-team field after shooting their second and third sub-par rounds of the fall. HPU started the weekend with a -2 (286) before improving by a stroke with a second-round registering a -3 (285). Two days after finishing last in the field in par 5 scoring at the East Bay Deli Classic, the squad is -14 on the course’s par 5s.

The third Panther on the leaderboard, junior Davis Kiger, avoided trouble in the second round tallying just one bogey en route to a -1 (71), his first under-par round of his collegiate career. That round coupled with a +1 (73) in the first round puts the Harrisburg, N.C. native in a tie for 25th headed into the final round.

Freshman Ethan Willis and Menard were big factors in the team’s second-round improvement. Willis opened the tournament with a +2 (74), but played a much cleaner round the second trip around the course to record a 72. As a result, Willis is tied for 36th (74-72, +2).

Meanwhile, Menard’s big break came in the second round when he carded the first hole in one of his career. The Canadian rode that memorable shot to a +1 (73) after shooting a +3 (75) on the first 18.

Playing as an individual, freshman Ryan McCarthy fired an opening-round career-best round of +2 (74). The second time around the course, the freshman shot an 84.

The Panthers return to the links on Saturday morning for the final 18 holes of the fall schedule at 8:00 a.m.