WHEELING, W.Va.—At the midway point of the 2021 NCAA Division III Men's Golf Championship Denison sits in fourth place overall after a stellar second round team score of 285 on the Palmer Course at Oglebay Golf Resort.
Denison's depth, consistency, and talent were on full display on the challenging par-70 course designed by golfing legend Arnold Palmer. DU entered the day tied for 12
th place out of the field of 37 teams. With a late afternoon start time that was delayed by an hour due to a morning frost warning, Denison shrugged off the change in schedule turning in the second lowest team score of the day.
After opening with an 83, sophomore Jessie Felker bounced back in grand fashion, firing a four-under-par 66 to lead the Big Red's march up the leaderboard. Felker carded seven birdies on the day, rattling off four-straight on holes 8-11. The Georgia native ended his with a birdie on the par-4 18
th to shoot 33 on the back nine. Felker's 66 is a new career low. It was also the second-best round posted on day two at the tournament.
Marc Mitchell led DU with an even-par 72 on Tuesday and he finished Wednesday's round with a one-over 71 which has him tied for fifth place individually. Mitchell overcame a double-bogy on the par-5 second hold by stringing together three-straight birdies on holes 7-9. He shot 35 on the back nine thanks to birdies on No. 12 and No. 14.
Will Grady and
Sam Davis rounded out Denison's magnificent second day with four-over-par 74s. Grady was steady, starting his round with six pars before a bogey on the seventh. He got one back with a birdie on the par-5 eighth hole before dropping a shot on No. 9 to shoot 36 on the front. Grady came in at 38 to sign for a 74.
Davis had a similar day, carding no worse than a bogey on any hole. His lone birdie came on the par-5 11
th hole.
Ben Scherman closed out the scoring for Denison with a five-over 75. He racked up four birdies in his round and grinded on the back nine to finish with a birdie on the 18 to match his opening round score.
At 590, Denison is just two shots behind third-place Guilford. Second place belongs to Methodist at 581 while Illinois Wesleyan leads the tournament at 576. The only team to post a lower score than the Big Red on Wednesday was Methodist who parlayed a 65 from Andre Chi and a 69 from Cooper Hrabak into an 18-hole team score of 281.
The third and fourth rounds will be played back on the Jones Course at the Oglebay Golf Resort. Denison will tee off at 9:20 a.m. and fans can follow live scoring throughout the remainder of the tournament.
