BRASELTON, Ga. –
Zach LaVoie (Princeton, N.J./Pinedale) fired a second-round 76 for a two-day total of 159, leading McDaniel to a 27
th-place finish at the 2008 NCAA Division III men’s golf championship at the Chateau Elan Resort on Tuesday and Wednesday.
With a first-round score of 338 on the more difficult Woodlands Course, the Green Terror found itself in 33rd place but improved by 23 strokes in Wednesday’s second round on the Chateau Course but fell 14 shots shy of making the cut.
The field was cut from 35 teams to 23 for the final two rounds of competition on Thursday and Friday. St. John Fisher holds the two-round lead after a 10-over par 294 on the Woodlands Course, sitting at 596 – six ahead of second-place Oglethorpe and eight in front of Redlands, who the Cardinals will be paired with on Thursday.
After not having a round lower than Paul Kovalcheck’s (Fairless Hills, Pa./Truman) on Tuesday, Gerry Butler (Butler, Md./Stephen Decatur) finished his career with a round of 75 on Wednesday to finish with a two-day total of 161.
Kovalcheck matched his first-round 82 with a second-round 82 for a score of 164.
Steve Meier (Wilmington, Del./Salesianum School) improved seven shots from Tuesday to Wednesday, carding an 82 to finish with a 171.
Taylor Massie (Southington, Conn./St. Paul Catholic) rounded out the McDaniel contingent, carding an 87 on Tuesday before posting a round of 90 on Wednesday.
Team Scores (through two rounds)^: 1. St. John Fisher 596 (302-294), 2. Oglethorpe 602 (306-296), 3. Redlands 604 (304-300), 4. St. John’s (Minn.) 605 (314-291), 5. Methodist 609 (311-298), 6. Skidmore 611 (301-310), 7T. La Verne 613 (291-322), 7T. Mary Hardin-Baylor 613 (311-302), 9. Huntingdon 615 (305-310), 10. Wesley 616 (311-305), 11. Illinois Wesleyan 621 (323-298), 12T. Emory 622 (317-305), 12. Linfield 622 (304-318), 14. Transylvania 624 (319-305), 15. Nebraska Wesleyan 625 (320-305), 16. LaGrange 626 (307-319), 17. Ohio Wesleyan 627 (329-298), 18. Mount Union 631 (316-315), 19. Luther 632 (317-315), 20. Hope 634 (312-322), 21. Gustavus Adolphus 637 (320-317), 22. Washington and Lee 638 (323-315), 23. Wisconsin-Eau Claire 639 (314-325), 24T. Washington & Jefferson 648 (328-320), 24T. Williams 648 (313-335), 26. Elizabethtown 651 (323-328), 27. McDaniel 653 (338-315), 28. Webster 655 (333-322), 29. Husson 657 (336-321), 30. Cabrini 663 (337-326), 31. Fairleigh Dickinson-Florham 676 (332-344), 32. Knox 679 (333-346), 33. Keystone 683 (337-346), 34. Penn State-Altoona 687 (361-326), 35. St. Joseph’s (L.I.) 704 (347-357).
McDaniel Scores: 76T. Zach LaVoie 159 (83-76), 98T. Gerry Butler 161 (86-75), 114T. Paul Kovalcheck 164 (82-82), 146T. Steve Meier 171 (89-82), 164T. Taylor Massie 177 (87-90).
^ field cut to 23 teams after second of four rounds
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McDaniel golfers (hole-by-hole scorecard and tournament stats):
For live scoring updates, all golfers are required to report scores every three holes for posting. Once a player completes holes 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15, his scores will be reported to the official scoring area for posting. No scores are deemed official until the player and his marker have signed the card following the 18th hole, attesting that every score on the card is accurate.
McDaniel updates:
3:25 p.m.: The second round for the Green Terror is in the books and the squad will not make the cut despite an improvement of 23 shots from round one to round two.
2:55 p.m.: With more finalized scores coming in, the hope continue to dim for McDaniel making the cut. With just the final three holes of scores to come in for Meier, Kovalcheck, LaVoie and Bulter, the Green Terror still needs to make up 11 shots.
2:35 p.m.: Wisconsin-Eau Claire currently sits in the magical 23rd spot with a posted two-round score of 639. McDaniel sits 11 strokes behind that number with a handful of teams around the line that could alter the number that is needed to get into the final two rounds.
2:10 p.m.: With 21 holes left to score for McDaniel, the Green Terror still needs to make up 12 stokes to be around on Thursday.
2:00 p.m.: The early groups are starting to finish their second rounds. The Green Terror is currently eight shots back from playing rounds three and four with a collective 27 holes to be scored. Three of the five teams between McDaniel and the cut line are playing the more difficult Woodlands Course.
1:15 p.m.: The morning cloudy skies have given way to spotty afternoon sprikles around the course but nothing on the radar looks like it will be hard enough or contain any lightning that will suspend play – today, at least.
12:50 p.m.: With Butler making the turn, the Green Terror is a collective +16 on the day, vaulting into a tie for 27th place with nine holes to play. Butler led the way on the first nine with a 37 while LaVoie was at 38 and Meier at 40. Kovalcheck is at 41 and Massie at 42.
12:10 p.m.: All five golfers have now cleared the scoring loop at No. 15 and are a collective +11 on the day. McDaniel has climbed into a tie for 29th place, nine strokes off the necessary 23rd spot.
11:40 a.m.: The Green Terror sits at +8 on the day but has already made up two positions in the standings. Bulter had back-to-back par putts within two feet on 13 and 14, just missing a pair of birdies. LaVoie already has a birdie on the day, sinking a 15-footer on the 415-yard 11th.
10:10 a.m.: All five McDaniel golfers are on the course dressed in their closing green, attempting to make up the deficit between going home and playing two more rounds.
8:30 a.m.: The team has arrived at the course and on the practice green and driving range, preparing for round two. McDaniel starts day two needing to make up 15 strokes and leapfrog 10 positions to make the cut and be around for rounds three and four. Taylor Massie tees it up in one hour on No. 10 at the Chateau Course. Steve Meier follows him at 9:39 a.m. before Paul Kovalcheck tees off at 9:48 a.m. Zach LaVoie (9:57 a.m.) and Gerry Butler (10:06 a.m.) will round out the competitors.
