SPRING, Texas – The Gonzaga men's golf team is through two rounds of the Colin Montgomerie HBU Invitational at Augusta Pines Golf Course. The tournament includes 82 golfers from 15 different schools and is being hosted by Houston Baptist University. Play kicked off on Monday with two rounds and will conclude on Tuesday with the third and final round.
The Zags are in second place at 14-over (590) as a team after turning in back-to-back scores of seven-over (295) in each of the first two rounds. The Bulldogs led all other teams with 117 combined pars on the day, making 11 more than the next-highest total (106). GU added 22 birdies along the way.
Gonzaga also led the 16-team field on the course's par 3 holes, combining to shoot nine-over in the first two rounds and averaging 3.22 strokes per hole. Their combined average score of 4.11 on the course's par 4 holes was second-best in the field as well.
Charlie Magruder led the way for the Zags as he sits alone in second place on the individual leaderboard at one-under par (143). In his opening round, the Las Vegas native shot even par (72), scattering 12 pars and three birdies on his scorecard. In the afternoon round, Magruder shot one-under (71) and added 11 pars and four birdies, bringing his tournament total to 23 and seven. His performance on the course's par 3 holes leads all individuals, shooting two-under par and averaging 2.75 strokes per hole in the first two rounds.
Matthew Ruel is in a tie for 11th place at four-over (148) heading into Tuesday's final round. He shot one-over (73) in Round 1 and three-over (75) in Round 2 and made a total of 25 pars and four birdies on the day.
Jace Minni is two strokes back of Ruel at six-over par (150). His scores of two-over (74) and four-over (76) leave him in a tie for 16th, combining for 22 pars and five birdies in the first two rounds.
Zach Stocker and
Holden Backes are both in a tie for 23rd place at eight-over (152). Stocker turned in scores of seven-over (79) and one-over (73) and made 24 pars and three birdies. Backes shot four-over (76) in both rounds and made 23 pars and three birdies along the way.
Southeastern Louisiana's Michael Landry has a three-stroke lead over Magruder (-1, 143) at four-under (140) heading into the final round on Tuesday. Nicholls' Braxton Kuntz is one stroke behind the Gonzaga junior at even-par (144) and holds sole possession of third place. On the team leaderboard, Southeastern Louisiana is five strokes ahead of Gonzaga (+14, 590) at nine-over par (585).
Golfers will tee off at 8:15 a.m. on Tuesday in the final round of the tournament. Live scoring will be available at GoZags.com.
