Jackson rebounds to lead Eagles at day two of South/Southeast Regional
POOLER, Ga. – After disqualifying himself following round one of the South/Southeast Regional, Rafael Jackson (Rutledge, Tenn.) responded with a 69 (-3) to pace Carson-Newman during the second round of the postseason tournament at the Savannah Quarters Golf Club.
POOLER, Ga. – After disqualifying himself following round one of the South/Southeast Regional, Rafael Jackson (Rutledge, Tenn.) responded with a 69 (-3) to pace Carson-Newman during the second round of the postseason tournament at the Savannah Quarters Golf Club.
Jackson initially finished round one with a 79; however, while eating dinner with his teammates following the initial round, Jackson realized he'd had an illegal wedge (that he did not end up using) in his bag.
The senior self-reported the error to a rules official prior to the start of Tuesday's round to DQ himself from the first day's round since he signed for an incorrect scorecard.
"We're so proud of Rafael," Carson-Newman head men's golf coach Randy Wylie said. "He truly embodied fair play and good sportsmanship. Not only that, he embodied the truthfulness that this university is all about. I was proud of him for owning up like that and then stepping up to shoot one of the best rounds of day two of the tournament."
Jackson's three-under round was the second best round of day two. Only Bryan Cox of Georgia College and State University was better. He had a 67. Jackson's 69 is the seventh round of the tournament that's been three-under or better. If Jackson's first round still stood, he'd be in the top 25 as an individual for the event.
Carson-Newman improved 29 strokes from day one to day two with a 306. That figure bested no. 14 Columbus State.
The Eagles still sit in 20th for the event. No. 6-ranked Nova Southeastern claimed the lead by two strokes after the second day. The Sharks fired a second-round 292 to come in with a two-day 582 total, two shots ahead of top-ranked and defending national champion Barry (584). The logjam at the top continues as three teams are tied for third - No. 2-ranked USC Aiken, No. 17-ranked Florida Tech and No. 4-ranked Lynn, all sitting just three shots off the lead with 585 totals. Host and No. 8-ranked Armstrong (589) is sixth and No. 11 North Alabama (590) is seventh out of the 20-team field.
The top seven teams advance to the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championships in Allendale, Mich., on May 19-23.
Jonathan Kim-Moss (Mississauga, Canada) fired a 78 (+6) for day two of the event, while Dalton Reese finished with a 79 (+7), taking four strokes off his day one tally.
The Eagles conclude the tournament with a 7:50 a.m. tee time Wednesday. Follow the Eagles final round with live stats through cneagles.com.
20 Carson-Newman 335 306 641
T82 Jonathan Kim-Moss (1) 80 78 158
T96 Dalton Reese (5) 83 79 162
100 Corey Bray (4) 81 82 163
105 Nicklaus Kennedy (3) 91 80 171
106 Rafael Jackson (2) 0 69 69
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