American Conference/ Ben Solomon

Golf

Led by Correa's 67, No. 21 USF Pulls Away at Men's Golf Championship

PALM HARBOR, Fla. – On a day that began with showers before clearing up, No. 21 USF closed similarly to the weather – hot. Paced by Claudio Correa’s 4-under par 67, the Bulls opened a 19-shot lead after the second round of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship, presented by Visit St. Pete/Clearwater.
 
The Bulls were the only team under par on the par-71, 7,125-yard layout on the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort & Golf Club in Palm Harbor, Fla., as Correa, Cristian DiMarco (69) and Jimmy Jones (70) all fired rounds under par. Correa (71-67) will enjoy a two-shot lead heading into Tuesday’s final round, leading his teammate DiMarco (71-69) and Cincinnati’s Davis Baxter (70-70), both of whom sit at 2-under par for the championship.
 
The final round of the championship can be followed via Golfstat, while live streaming coverage will begin on the American Digital Network beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET.
 
At 1-under par, Jones (71-70) is solo fourth heading into the final round, while SMU’s Gray Townsend (72-70) and Memphis’ Borja Martin (71-71) are both four shots back of Correa.
 
The Bulls will be aiming for the program’s fourth consecutive American Athletic Conference men’s golf title when they tee off on Tuesday. Since 2015, USF has not trailed following the completion of an American championship round, a streak of 11 straight rounds in the lead.
 
Correa was a freshman on that 2015 squad, finishing in a tie for 18th. The top-rated player in The American, 32nd in the nation, Correa will be looking for his first victory of the season on Tuesday. The senior rattled off birdies at 12, 14 and 15 to reach 5-under on his round before a late bogey put him in the clubhouse with a 67.
 
Led by Townsend and Mac Meissner, SMU moved into second place at the championship at 14-over par and will tee off with USF in the final grouping. As a junior, Townsend finished one shot out of a playoff for medalist honors, and the senior will enter his final round four shots behind Correa. Meissner backed up his opening 71 with a 1-over 72 on Monday, putting the freshman into seventh place
 
As a program, the Mustangs are poised for the program’s best finish at the conference championship since claiming the 2014 title.
 
UCF sits in third place, just two shots behind SMU. After going out in 1-over par as a team, the back nine bit the Knights as they finished with a team score of 295, 11-over par. Manuel Elvira leads the Knights, sitting in a tie for eighth at 2-over overall.
 
At 17-over par, Cincinnati sits in the middle of a cluster of teams sitting second through sixth and separated by just five shots. The Bearcats are fourth, paced by Baxter’s second consecutive round of 70. Baxter actually hit the cup on the fly with his tee shot on No. 13, but the ball bounced out of the cup and he settled for a par.
 
Temple continued its strong play at the championship, moving into a tie for fifth with ECU after a 7-over par round put the Owls 19-over for the tournament. John Barone’s 1-over round moved him into a tie for 14th, directly ahead of teammates Trey Wren (+5) and Gary McCabe (+5).
 
Patrick Stephenson and Blake Taylor each shot 1-over 71’s for ECU as the Pirates maintained their position in the field. At 3-over par overall, Stephenson is one of four players tied for 10th in the championship, while Taylor is among those tied for 14th at 4-over.
 
Memphis and Houston had the second and third-best team rounds on Monday, respectively. Martin is the highest-placed freshman in the field, as he held a share of the lead during his second round before settling for a second-straight round of 71.
 
Michael Perras, the 2017 men’s golf championship medalist, was one of two Cougars under par in round two, matching teammate Zach Tracy with a 1-under 70. At 3-over, Perras sits among the quartet at 3-over par while Tracy is one shot behind at 4-over for the championship.
 
A 1-over par round moved Wichita State’s Gage Ihrig into the tie for 10th, as it also did for UConn’s Jimmy Hervol.
 
Teams sitting 1-6 will tee off from hole No. 1 beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET from the first tee. Teams placed 7-10 will tee off from No. 10 beginning at 7:34 a.m. ET on Tuesday.