OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – North Carolina A&T men's golf freshman Samuel Drew Walker has found his rhythm regardless of the golf course. On Monday, Walker continued his hot streak as the Aggies played at the TSU Big Blue Intercollegiate hosted by Tennessee State at the par-71, 7,020-yard Hermitage Golf Club Presidents Reserve golf course.
Walker shot a two-round, 36-hole, 2-under 140. He is in a tie for 10th place with Evansville golfer Nicholas Gushrowski heading into Tuesday's final round. Walker has played six consecutive rounds where he has shot even par or lower, breaking a program record for consecutive rounds without shooting above par.
In four of his last six rounds, Walker has shot below par, including his second round, 2-under 69 on Monday. As a result, he finds himself only four strokes off the lead. The leader in the clubhouse is Lindenwood University's Renato Filho, who shot a two-round 6-under 136.
Belmont's John Shoenberger is in second place at 5-under 137, and Arkansas Pine-Bluff's Patrick Mwendapole and Longwood's Justin Larue are tied for third at 4-under 136. There is a six-way tie for fifth at 3-under 138.
As a team, the Aggies shot 10-over 578, shooting 4-over in the first round and 6-over in the second. They are in a tie for eighth place with John A. Logan College. The University of Tennessee-Martin is in fifth place after shooting a 3-under 565 on Monday. Longwood is second with a 2-under 566. The Lancers are followed by Evansville and Belmont, who are in a third-place tie at 1-under 567. Lindenwood rounds out the top-5 of the 15-team tournament by shooting a Day 1 total of 3-over 571.
Walker carded eight birdies over the first two rounds of the tournament. He played exceptionally well on the par-4, shooting 3-under for the day. He shot 1-under on the course's par-5s. Walker's teammate Carson Witherspoon in a seven-way tie for 41st with a 4-over 146. Witherspoon shot a second-round 72.
Conrado Chozas is in a nine-way tie for 53rd after shooting 6-over 148. The nine-way tie includes A&T graduate Diego Gonzalez who holed one of the four eagles scored on Monday. Martin Gutierrez was the fifth player for A&T. He shot a 149 on Monday.
