Cappelen leads Razorbacks at Gopher

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Freshman Sebastian Cappelen led the way for the University of Arkansas men’s golf team at the Gopher Invitational on Sunday by shooting four-under par for the opening two rounds of competition to place him in third and lead the Razorbacks to a third-place team ranking with 18 holes to play.

Arkansas’ first round score of 297 placed it seventh overall, but a solid second round of 291 moved the Razorbacks up four places heading into the final day. The Razorbacks are six strokes behind the leader, LSU, and just four strokes from second-place Kent St. UNC-Charlotte is tied with Arkansas for third.

Cappelen’s day began on the 11th hole of the Spring Hill Golf Course and did not go well for the Odense, Denmark native as he posted bogeys on his first two holes as a Razorback. A third bogey on his fifth hole of the day put him at three-over par, but an eagle on the par five 16th moved him back to one-over par where he would remain for the rest of the first round. Cappelen’s second round consisted of four bogeys and nine birdies as he shot a Razorback low, 67, on his second 18 holes to vault himself up the leader board into a third-place tie. Cappelen’s second round wrapped up with five birdies and a bogey on his final six holes including three consecutive birdies to end his day.

Sophomore Austin Cook finished his first day of competition at three-over par and is 15th overall. The Jonesboro, Ark., native opened his second year on the links with the Razorbacks with a birdie and was one-under par through seven holes. Still at one-under with two holes to play, Cook posted bogeys on his final two holes of the first round to finish at one over. In his second round, Cook once again opened with a birdie and was two-under par through four holes. Five bogeys and a birdie to finish his round left him at two over for his second 18. On the day he would hit seven birdies and 10 bogeys.

The elder statesman of the group, Jamie Marshall ranks third on the Razorback roster as he finished his day at six-over par and tied for 23rd. Marshall was the most consistent of the Razorbacks with his game throughout the day with 26 holes of par, but a triple bogey on the par four 12th during his second round ruined what could have been a very good score and a spot among the tournament leaders.

Junior Ethan Tracy got off to a terrible start with four consecutive bogeys in round one, but settled down after the bad run of luck and finished the first 18 holes at five-over par. Tracy came back in his second round and played his first four holes at one-under par on way to a final score of two-over par and seven over for the day. Tracy posted three birdies and 10 bogeys on the day.

Redshirt sophomore Tobias Pettersson rounded out the Razorbacks’ day at the Gopher Invitational with a first-day score of 156. Improving two strokes between his first and second rounds, Pettersson recorded a pair of birdies on Sunday, one in each round.

The Razorbacks wrap up their first tournament of the 2010-11 season on Sunday morning at 8:50 a.m. with Kent State and LSU all vying for the team title.