Sept. 12, 2011

Wolverine Intercollegiate Results (First and Second Rounds)

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Behind Ryan O'Rear's career-low 66 in the second round, the Baylor men's golf team is in third place Monday after 36 holes at the Wolverine Intercollegiate.

O'Rear is tied for third place with Cal's Michael Kim at 5-under 137 - two strokes behind the leader, Joel Stalter of Cal (7-under 135). O'Rear's second-round 66 was tied for the second-lowest score of the day, behind Stalter's course-record-tying 63 in the second round.

At one point, Baylor owned a two-stroke lead in the second round, but was later overtaken by Cal, which leads the field by five strokes at 12-under 556 through 36 holes. Michigan State is in second place at 7-under 561, followed by Baylor at 6-under 562. Host Michigan is fourth at even-par 568.

"I thought, overall, we played well Monday," head coach Greg Priest said. "We had a chance for a really solid second round, but we let it slip away from us."

O'Rear managed to birdie the par-4 No. 18 twice on Monday. The Salado, Texas, native was 1-over through 17 holes in the first round until a birdie on 18 pushed him to even-par. His birdie on 18 in the second round helped him erase a bogey two holes earlier to solidify his career-low 66.

Freshman Mikkel Bjerch-Andresen, who posted a top-five finish in his Baylor debut last week, is tied for eighth overall at 2-under 140. Bjerch-Andresen fired a two-under 69 in the first round, before carding an even-par 71 in the afternoon. Fellow Norwegian, senior Joakim Mikkelsen, is tied for 13th at even-par 142.

"Ryan put a big number for us in the second round, but I don't think he hit the ball that well," Priest said. "He had a good front nine, but didn't play as well on the back. He had a great birdie on 18 to drop back to 5-under.

"Mikkel is a very steady golfer," Priest said. "He's the type of guy, who hits the ball well, keeps it in play and keeps his composure. What Ryan and Mikkel did Monday is exactly what we needed from them."

After shooting 2-over in the first round, senior Lorenzo Scotto bounced back with an even-par 71 in the second round, finishing the day tied for 19th overall at 2-over 144. Scotto carded an eagle on the par-4 No. 6 in the second round. Freshman Kyle Jones is 32nd overall at 4-over 146.

"Joakim and Lorenzo bounced around all day, but were able to keep us under-par," Priest said. "Kyle didn't feel well all day, but he's a fierce competitor and battled for 36 holes. We are within striking distance to make a big move and can catch some people Tuesday."

The final round of the Wolverine Intercollegiate will tee off Tuesday at 7 a.m. CDT. Live scoring will be available on www.GolfStat.com.