Men's golf climbs leaderboard after day two in Minnesota
September 13, 2008 | Men's Golf
The 61st-ranked University of Wisconsin men's golf team climbed the leaderboard Saturday and now sits in a tie for fifth after round two of the Gopher Invitational at the Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata, Minn. Two golfers had rounds under par and the team itself posted the best second round score of the tournament as the Badgers moved from eighth into its current position.
The Badgers are now tied with Marquette and Washington with a 13-over par, 589. LSU took over the team lead from Texas is now three-under par with a 573. After firing a 304 in the opening round, the UW posted a three-under par 285 in the second round. It was the third best round of the tournament thus far.
Junior Jordan Elsen (Kenosha, Wis.) continued his strong play and is now tied for 10th. Elsen, who entered in a tie for 6th after shooting a 71 in Friday's opening round, recorded a one-over par 73 to put himself at even par for the tournament. Starting on the 10th hole, Elsen began strong, putting up a 33 on his first nine holes, including birdies on 12, 14 and 16. Things didn't go as well on the front nine, though as Elsen shot a 40. Bogeys on holes 2, 3, 5 and 8 contributed to Elsen's slip on the leaderboard.
Senior Tyler Obermueller (River Falls, Wis.) had the biggest improvement from day one to day two among the Badger golfers as he shot a career-best 68 in round two after posting an 80 in the opening round. The first 15 holes proved very strong for Obermueller, while the last three kept him from posting an even more impressive round.
A birdie on No. 10 set the tone, as he then went on to birdie No. 13 as well as holes 15-17 en route to a front nine score of five-under 31. Following four straight pars, a birdie on No. 4 moved him to six-under par for the day. His highlight of the day came on No. 6 where he recorded an eagle on the par-4 to put him at eight-under. His score took a bit of a hit after that though as a double bogey on No. 7 followed by bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9 gave him a 37 on the front side. Sitting four-over par, Obermueller is now tied for 25th after finishing round one tied for 52nd.
Also showing a big improvement from the first round to the second was senior Dan Woltman (Beaver Dam, Wis.). Like Obermueller, Woltman also found himself tied for 52nd after the opening round. A strong second round of two-under 70 catapulted him up to a tie for 33rd. Currently sitting at a six-over par 150, Woltman started slowly as he bogeyed two of the first five holes. He got things back on track though as he went on to birdie Nos. 15, 16 and 18. After two pars to start the front nine, Woltman birdied No. 3 before closing out his round with six more pars.
One stroke behind Woltman sits fellow senior Danny Zimmerman (Verona, Wis.). He too improved on his score from round one to round two. After firing a five-over 77 in round one, Zimmerman backed it up with a two-over 74 to put himself at seven-over 151 for the tournament. He shot an even-par 36 on the back side as he followed seven straight pars up with a birdie on No. 17 and a bogey on No. 18. After a par on No. 1, Zimmerman posted a triple bogey-7 on No. 2. A bogey on No. 4 was sandwiched between birdies on Nos. 3 and 5 as Zimmerman shot a two-over 38 on the front side.
Rounding out the Badger competitors was senior Pat Duffy (Appleton, Wis.). He entered Saturday's round in a tie for 37th, but now finds himself in a tie for 48th after shooting a seven-over 79. Bogeys on Nos. 12 and 15 plus a double bogey on No. 14 put Duffy at four-over par through five holes. Back-to-back birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 followed by a par on No. 18 gave him a two-over par 38. A birdie on No. 1 made him just one-over par for the day through 10 holes, but a double bogey on No. 2 quickly changed that. Duffy finished with back-to-back bogeys on holes 4 and 5 and a double bogey on No. 6 en route to a five-over 41 on the front nine.
The 2008 Gopher Invitational concludes Sunday morning. Tee times are set for 8 a.m. with live stats available SPSID=38696&SPID=3307&DB_OEM_ID=8400"> --> here . Fans can check back to UWBadgers.com for a full recap.
