Mercer Men’s Golf Tied for Fourth at Sam Hall Intercollegiate

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (MERCER RELEASE) – A solid first day of the 2013-14 season has the Mercer men’s golf team tied for fourth place at the Sam Hall Intercollegiate following Monday’s first two rounds at Hattiesburg Country club. Mercer’s opening day total of 564 (-4) was highlighted by senior Hans Reimers’ second round 65 (-6).

Mercer shot 286 in the first round and followed with a 278 in round two, leaving the Bears six strokes behind South Alabama for third place. Louisiana-Lafayette leads the tournament at 553 (-12), while Mississippi State is slotted second at 557 (-8).

Individually, Reimers is tied for fourth place and just two strokes behind the leaders after using 135 (70-65) strokes on Monday. His second round 65 featured 12 pars and six birdies and was one of just four rounds of 65 or better.

“I think that Hans played really well today,” Mercer head coach Steve Bradley said. “There’s a reason he played great this summer and was our number one last year. He’s come into his own and I expect that type of play from him.”

Junior Trey Rule started strong with birdies in three of his first four holes en route to an opening round 69 (-2). He’ll enter Tuesday’s final round tied for 14th after shooting 70 (-1) in the second round.

Senior James Beale posted scores of 73 (+1) and 71 (E) and is currently tied for 34th. Freshman Sean Smothers carded rounds of 74 (+3) and 72 (+1) and is tied for 50th while his classmate Justin Connelly is tied for 56th with Monday scores of 74 (+3) and 73 (+2).

Redshirt junior Mike Hirthler fired back-to-back 72s (E) while competing as an individual. His efforts place him in a tie for 34th entering Tuesday’s action.

“The course was getable today,” Bradley said. “All around, our play wasn’t great and it wasn’t bad. We have room to improve because we didn’t drive the ball particularly well, and therefore didn’t take advantage of some of the par fives.

“It will be tough to catch the top teams, but we certainly would like to shoot our best round tomorrow and make a move up the leaderboard.”

The final round of the Sam Hall Intercollegiate is scheduled for an 8 a.m. start on Tuesday. Live scoring can be found at www.GolfStat.com.