NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Eric Edmunds (Skaneateles, N.Y./Skaneateles) shot a one-under par second round to move into 31st place and pace Saint Peter's to a 14th-place standing at the NCAA New Haven Regional on Friday.
Starting on the 10th tee, Edmunds posted a bogey on his first hole before recording three-straight birdies on 11, 12 and 13 to go to two-under par after four holes. The senior then bogeyed 15 and made the turn at one-under par. Edmunds finished the final nine holes even par after a birdie on four and a bogey on nine to finish the day with a one-under par round of 69, the seventh-best round of the afternoon. After posting a 76 in the first round, Edmunds has a two-round score of 145 to sit 11 strokes behind the leader in 31st place.
Brandon Molson (Westfield, N.J./Westfield) posted a 75 for the second-straight day to rank 58th with a total of 150. The senior registered a two-over on his first nine holes of the day. Molson posted bogeys on 10 and 16 and a double bogey on 12 while registering birdies on 11, 15 and 18 to make the turn at two-over par. The senior had triple bogeyed 18 on Thursday before birding the hole in the second round. Molson then went three-over par on his final nine holes with bogeys on three, four and eight and pars on the remaining six holes to notch a 75 for the second-consecutive round.
Brian Grubbs (Cortez, Colo./Montezuma Cortez) and Nicholas Dilio (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) remained tied with each posting a round of 75 on the day after a 78 in the first round for a two-round score of 153 to sit in 67th place. Grubbs posted a double bogey on 10, bogeys on 15 and 16 and a birdie on 17 to make the turn three-over par. The senior then had bogeys on two and seven with pars on the remaining seven holes to finish with a five-over par round of 75. Dilio had bogeys o 11, 15, 17 and 18 and a birdie on 14 to make the turn at three-over par. A birdie on one, double bogey one three, a birdie on eight and a bogey on nine had Dilio finish the back nine with a two-over par to end with a 75.
After posting a 78 in the first round, Dominic Diaz (Bridgewater, N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan) carded an 81 in the second round to sit in 75th place with a two-round score of 159. The sophomore had a birdie on seven to along with eight bogeys and two double bogeys in the second round.
South Florida continues to lead the three-day event with a two-round total of 557, nine strokes ahead of North Carolina State (566) while San Diego State (567), Vanderbilt (567) and Oklahoma State (570) sit in the Top-5 looking to move onto the NCAA Championships.
Of the 14 teams competing, 12 of the teams improved on their score from the first round while one team posted the same total and one team posted a higher score in the second round. The Peacocks were one of the 12 teams to post a better round on Friday finishing the day with a 294 after carding a 307 in the first round for a two-day score of 601.
Saint Peter's is making its second appearance in the NCAA Regionals after winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men's Golf Championship on Apr. 26 for the second-straight year. Last year, the Peacocks participated in the NCAA Sugar Grove Regional and finished 14th with scores of 338, 324 and 328 for a three-round score of 990 on May 15-14. All five players are playing in their second NCAA Regional.
Saint Peter's will be paired with Robert Morris and the individuals for the third-straight day in the final round on Saturday. The teams will tee off from the 10th tee starting at 9:20 a.m. Diaz will be the first Peacock to tee off at 9:20 a.m. and will be followed by Dilio (9:31 a.m.), Grubbs (9:42 a.m.), Molson (9:53 a.m.) and Edmunds (10:04 a.m.).
