SAVANNAH, Ga. – The North Dakota State men's golf team rallied in the second of two rounds on Saturday to climb the leaderboard and sit third overall after the first day of The Savannah Intercollegiate at The Club at Savannah Harbor.
The Bison shot +18 as a team in the first round, sitting in ninth overall in the 15-team field, but North Dakota State posted a tournament best round of 278 (-10) to climb the leaderboard.
Brock Winter was a catalyst for the Bison in round two. After a +3 round of 75 to open the day, Winter posted a -5 round of 67 to climb the leaderboard and sit in a tie for sixth overall at -2.
After a par to start the second round, Winter birdied the second hole before posting 12 straight pars. Winter then closed strong with four-consecutive birdies. Winter's round of 67 is tied for the tournament best round.
Ian Simonich also had five birdies in his second round and shot -3 overall for the round to work his way back from a +8 round to open the day. Simonich sits in a tie for 28
th in the 90-golfer field.
Gavin Cronkhite shot +5 in the first round, but gained two shots back after a -2 round of 70 in the afternoon session. Cronkhite had three birdies in a six-hole stretch and added 14 pars in the second round.
Wrapping up the scoring for the Bison in the second round was
Nate Deziel, who finished at even par on the par-72 course. Deziel had four birdies in the second round and also had three in the first round. Deziel and Winters seven birdies on the day are tied for sixth best in the tournament field.
Playing as an individual for the Bison,
Josh Galvin also had a strong day. Galvin had the best opening round for NDSU, positing a +2 round of 74. He followed it up with four birdies and a 71 in the second round to sit in a tie for ninth at +1.
North Dakota State sits third behind Columbia (-8) and George Washington (+3). Scott Jordan (Longwood) and DJ Francey (Columbia) share the individual lead at -4. Six golfers sit within two shots of the lead, including Winter.
The Bison are set to begin the third round on Sunday at 8 a.m. ET with a shot gun start in the lead pairings set to tee off on holes 1-4.
