Seniors lead Arkansas at Morris Williams

AUSTIN, Texas – Senior David Lingmerth and the rest of the University of Arkansas men’s golf team battled gusting winds of 18-20 miles per hour during the first two rounds of the Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Texas, on Monday, pacing the Razorbacks to sixth place after 36 holes of the tournament.

Lingmerth and the Razorbacks finished the opening day of competition at 25-over-par with an opening round of 294 and second round of 299 as conditions became much tougher. Arkansas was one of the first two teams to wrap up competition on Monday evening at the University of Texas Golf Club, a par 71, 7,412-yard course. New Mexico led for most of the first day with a three-under-par 281 for the opening round, but a second round +15 dropped it to second behind the host Texas who rallied from an eight-over-par first round to shave five strokes off the second round and finish at 11 over for the day and in first. LSU and Texas A&M round out the top five teams at the Morris Williams at +22 and +24.

Lingmerth’s opening round was not Arkansas’ best, but his first day led the Razorbacks as he ended up at +5 for the day and in a tie for 13th in the individual standings. The Swedish national hit two birdies and four bogeys over the first 18 holes and battled a triple bogey on his second hole of the second round to finish at three over. Lingmerth was a pillar of consistency over the second 18 holes except for the one blip on the scorecard as he stood at four-over-par after the first three holes of the round, then hit 13 straight pars before a birdie on the par three second.

Fellow senior Jamie Marshall had a tough opening round as his five-over-par would not count toward Arkansas’ team score. Marshall hit just a single birdie in the first round while six bogeys marked up his card. Experience was key for the Castle Rock, Colo., native as he bounced back to score three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in the second round to finish at eight over and in a tie for 34th overall.

Senior leadership was the key for Arkansas on Monday as Dalton Owens rounded out the Arkansas top three players. Matching Marshall’s eight-over-par for the day, Owens was four-over in each of his two rounds on Monday. His opening 18 holes included a pair of birdies and six bogeys while his second time on the course featured two birdies four bogeys and a double bogey.

Arkansas’ freshmen Austin Cook and Josh Eure rank 42nd and 46th, respectively in the individual standings at nine- and 10-over-par. Cook was +4 after the first round and followed it up with a +5, a fantastic score considering that the first-year-player counted a pair of double bogeys in his second round. Eure was Arkansas’ leader and among the field’s best with his opening round of even par, but a tough second round placed him well off the pace of the day’s leaders.

The Razorbacks finish the Morris Williams on Tuesday with a morning start.