Chase Wilson enjoys record day as HPU men’s golf finishes day one of the Joe Agee Invitational tied for first

Chase Wilson enjoys record day as HPU men’s golf finishes day one of the Joe Agee Invitational tied for first

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Senior Chase Wilson set a new HPU Div. I 36-hole record with a 12-under 134 on Monday to help lead the High Point University men’s golf team to a tie for first after two rounds at the Joe Agee Invitational in Williamsburg, Va. The Panthers are tied with Radford for the lead among 11 teams with an impressive score of 572.

“I am thrilled with how the guys played today,” head coach Greg Flesher said. “I am also really thrilled with how we conducted ourselves. We got off to a slow start but nobody panicked and everybody kept their composure. That allowed us to play a solid first round and a great second round. To play 36 holes in a day is a tough thing to do and our guys were up to the challenge.”

Wilson had 10 birdies and an eagle on his way to back-to-back rounds of 67. The eagle came on the sixth hole of the first round when he holed out on his second shot from 120-yards. Wilson was six-under on Par-4s, the lowest of any golfer on the day. Wilson’s 18-hole score of 67 also tied the HPU Div. I single-round record previously held solely by Ryan Wilson.

“Chase has worked very hard the past two weeks and went out there with great tempo which was key,” Flesher said. “You couldn’t tell it from his score but he had some bad bounces. He was really great around the green and his putting was fantastic. I was very impressed with how he played today.”

The combined two-round score turned in by HPU is the lowest scored by the Panthers since shooting a 571 in the first two rounds of the Sea Trail Intercollegiate in September of 2010. High Point took advantage of the Par-4s on the day scoring just +10, seven-strokes lower than the next closest teams, Radford and host William & Mary.

Sophomore Sam Stewart joined Wilson in the top 10 after two rounds, tying his career-low 36-hole score with a three-under 143 (71-72) to end the day in a tie for fifth. Sophomore Charles Valluzzo tied for the high round in his first 18 with a 75 but bounced back with an even-par 72 in the second round to finish the day in a tie for 12th with a total score of 147.

In his first collegiate tournament freshman McKay Tye carded two impressive rounds with a back-to-back 74s to finish the day in a tie for 19th with a score of 148. LJ Georgetti had two-straight rounds in which he carded a 75 and finished day one in a tie for 25th with a score of 150.

HPU and Radford are tied for the team lead with matching scores of 572. The two Big South squads hold a five-stroke lead over host William & Mary which is in third with a combined two-round score of 577. Delaware (587) and Elon (595) round out the top five.

Wilson is tied with Radford’s Callum Tarren in the race for the individual medal. The pair hold a four-stroke lead over Tarren’s Highlander teammate Weston Eklund who sits in third with a 36-hole total of 138.

The Panthers will return to the Williamsburg Club for the third and final round of the Joe Agee Invitational on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The round is scheduled to begin with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.