Courtesy of LA Tech Athletic Communications
Louisiana Tech withstood tough pin locations and windier conditions on Wednesday to shoot 294 (+6) and maintain an eight-stroke lead in round two of the 2024 Conference USA Men’s Golf Championship at the Texarkana Country Club.
LA Tech shot the third-best round of the day, securing two rounds at or under par but still managed to increase its lead by one stroke. The Bulldogs are eight strokes ahead of second-place Liberty and are looking to stay in the top four after Wednesday’s final round in order to quality for match play.
Hunter Battles was the first to tee off and ended up securing the best round for LA Tech, shooting 71 (-1). The fifth-year senior had nine straight pars on the front nine before dropping in his first birdie on the par 4 No. 10.
His lone bogey came on the par 4 No. 15, but he backed that up with another birdie on the par 5 No. 16 after making it on the green in two. As a result, he jumped 16 spots on the player leaderboard into a tie for seventh.
Niilo Maki-Petaja came into the round tied for third and finished the second round in the same spot after shooting 72 (E). The freshman tallied back-to-back birdies on No. 7 and No. 8 to shoot a 35 on the front. The lone miscue on the back was a bogey on the par 4 No. 14 with the other eight being pars.
Lake Juban, who was tied for the lead after 18 holes, shot 75 (+3) to drop the fifth-year senior into a tie for fourth. Between holes five and 13 he dropped in three birdies, but those were erased by three bogeys on the final five holes.
The fourth and final scoreboard used for the Bulldogs was that of Thomas Henson who shot 76 (+4), putting him in a tie for 11th. The senior’s best stretch came through the first eight holes where he was one under.
