UTC Golfers Tied for Third After Two Rounds at Palisades

CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Freshman Derek Rende continued his strong play of late, carding scores of 2-under par 70 in both Monday rounds, leading Chattanooga to a 5-under par team score and into a tie for third place after 36 holes of the Palisades Collegiate Classic.

Rende’s performance put him in a tie for fifth place with six other golfers, three strokes off the individual lead. Rende has now been below par in each of his last five rounds.

Jonathan Hodge and Mitch Brock are also in red numbers, three strokes behind Rende at 1-under par and are tied for eighteenth. Bryce Ledford and Fredrik Qvicker are tied at 2-over par.

The Mocs, ranked No. 39 by Golfstat and No. 43 by Golfweek, opened with a 4-under par 284 in the morning round, followed by a 1-under par 287 in the afternoon. The Mocs have now posted team scores of par or better in five consecutive rounds.

The team’s two round total of 5-under par places the Mocs in a three way tie for third place with No. 20 Louisville and No. 43 Ole Miss. No. 33 SE Louisiana and host Charlotte, ranked No. 23, are tied for the team lead at 13-par. The Mocs have a 12 stroke lead on No. 4 Lamar in the team’s first meeting with a team ranked in the top five.

Tuesday’s final round will tee off at 8 a.m. with the Mocs in the final group. Chattanooga has finished no worse than fifth this spring and has seven top five finishes and three wins this season.

TEAM SCORES:
T1. Charlotte 280-283=563 (-13)
T1. SE Louisiana 278-285=563 (-13)
T3. Chattanooga 284-287=571 (-5)
T3. Louisville 287-284=571 (-5)
T3. Mississippi 286-285=571 (-5)
T6. Xavier 290-292=582 (+6)
T6. Belmont Abbey 284-298=582 (+6)
T8. Lamar 289-294=583 (+7)
T8. North Florida 292-291=583 (+7)
10. Memphis 290-294=584 (+8)
11. Sam Houston State 297-289=586 (+10)
12. Mississippi State 300-288=588 (+12)
13. Davidson 284-306=590 (+14)
14. Nebraska 304-293=597 (+21)
15. Francis Marion 304-295=599 (+23)
16. USC Aiken 309-296=605 (+29)
17. Mercer 306-306=612 (+36)
18. South Alabama 300-318=618 (+42)

Chattanooga Individuals
T5. Derek Rende 70-70=140 (-4)
T18. Jonathan Hodge 70-73=143 (-1)
T18. Mitch Brock 71-72=143 (-1)
T31. Fredrik Qvicker 73-73=146 (+2)
T31. Bryce Ledford 74-72=146 (+2)
*T75. Daniel Wood 76-79=155 (+11)
*competing as an individual

Top-5 Individuals
1. Matthew Carvell (SE Louisiana) 67-70=137 (-7)
T2. James Taverner (SE Louisiana) 70-69=139 (-5)
T2. Callum Macaulay (Ole Miss) 71-68=139 (-5)
T2. Brad Benjamin (Memphis) 70-69=139 (-5)
T5. Derek Rende (Chattanooga) 70-70=140 (-4)
T5. Brady Schnell (Nebraska) 71-69=140 (-4)
T5. Jason Kokrak (Xavier) 71-69=140 (-4)
T5. Scooter Jefferson (Sam Houston) 71-69=140 (-4)
T5. Jordan Gibb (North Florida) 70-70=140 (-4)
T5. Cory Nagy (Charlotte) 70-70=140 (-4)
T5. Brice Bailey (Ole Miss) 67-73=140 (-4)