Duke in Second at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate

Monday, October 31

Dallas, Texas

All Day

Duke University

Day One at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate

Duke in Second at Royal Oaks Intercollegiate

10/31/2011 9:16:00 PM | Men's Golf

By: Duke Sports Information

DALLAS, TEXAS - Senior Spencer Anderson fired back-to-back rounds of 68 to lead Duke into second place after two rounds of play at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate. The Blue Devils shot 282 (-2) and 276 (-8) on Monday and will enter the final round at 10-under (558).

Texas A&M fired a tournament-low 273 (-11) in the second round and leads after 36 holes of play with a 17-under 551. Duke is seven shots back and followed by Augusta State (-8, 560), Oklahoma (-7, 561) and Baylor (-1, 567).

Jordan Russell (Texas A&M) holds the individual lead at nine-under with MJ Duffie (Lamar) and James Ross (Houston) two shots back at seven-under. Ross posted a tournament-low seven-under 64 in the second round of play. Anderson's back-to-back rounds of 68 put him in fourth place overall, while junior Brinson Paolini is tied for seventh with a three-under 139.

Anderson got off to the slow start in the first round with back-to-back bogeys to open the tournament. He settled in to play the remaining 16 holes at five-under, including a string of four birdies over a six-hole span, for a three-under 68. In the second round of play, Anderson opened with a birdie on No. 16 (par 3) before falling back to even-par with a bogey on the par 5 18th hole. The Pacific Palisades, Calif., native carded seven pars and birdies on No. 4 and No. 9 to move to two-under. He tacked on a birdie on the par 4 10th hole but suffered a bogey on No. 12 (par 3). Anderson bounced back with a birdie on No. 14 and finished with a par on No. 15 for his fifth under-par round of the fall.

Paolini shot a one-under 70 in the opening round and followed it up with a two-under 69 in the afternoon session on Monday. He enters the final round of play tied for seventh at three-under. The Virginia Beach, Va., native had 13 pars, three birdies and two bogeys in the first round. Paolini played the opening 15 holes of the second round at even-par with three birdies and three bogeys before moving into the top 10 with a strong finish. He collected a birdie on par 5 14th hole and closed with another birdie on the par 3 16th hole for his third round in the 60s this fall.

Sophomore Austin Cody collected his second under-par round of the year in the morning session with a one-under 70. He carded five birdies and was at three-under before suffering a double-bogey on his final hole of the first round. The North Charleston, S.C., native followed up with an even-par 71 in the second round. He carded three birdies, 12 pars and three bogeys in the afternoon session and is now tied for 15th with a one-under 141.

Julian Suri is tied for 21st after posting rounds of 74 and 68 for an even-par 142. He posted a deceptive three-over 74 in round one as the St. Augustine, Fla., native suffered a quad-bogey nine on his third hole of the day before settling in. He collected four birdies with three bogeys over the remaining 16 holes . Suri collected his team-leading seventh under-par round of the fall in the second round. He birdied the par 5 18th hole to move to one-under early in the round before dropping a stroke with a bogey on No. 5. Suri collected birdies on No. 8 (par 3) and No. 9 (par 4) and added birdies on No. 13 (par 4) and No. 15 (par 5) to move to four-under in the round. He slipped outside the top 20 with a bogey on his final hole.

Sophomore Yaroslav Merkulov was two-under through nine holes in the opening round before running into trouble. He dropped eight strokes over the next five holes before bouncing back with three straight birdies to cap of a three-over 74. Merkulov followed up with a five-over 76 in the second round and is currently tied for 66th with an eight-over 150.

Duke was fifth at the close of the opening round after posting a two-under 282. Texas A&M led the way with a six-under 278 in the first round and was followed by New Mexico (-4, 280), Oklahoma (-4, 280), Iowa (-4, 280) and the Blue Devils. Duke carded 23 birdies, but were knocked back by three double-bogeys, one triple-bogey and a quad-bogey (9) in round one.

Freshman Turner Southey-Gordon, playing as an individual, recorded his second straight under-par round with a two-under 69 in the first round. After beginning with a bogey on the par 3 eighth hole, he birdied No. 9, No. 10 and No. 11 to move to two-under. Southey-Gordon got to -3 with a birdie on No. 1 but gave a stroke back with a bogey on No. 3. He posted a seven-over 78 in the second round and is tied for 50th with a five-over 147.

Duke begins final round action on Tuesday at 10:50 am. The Blue Devils will be paired with Texas A&M and Augusta State. Live scoring for the event is available at www.golfstat.com.

NOTES
*** Anderson played the front nine at five-under with five birdies and 13 pars on holes No. 1-9.

*** Anderson and Paolini each have eight rounds of even-par or better golf this fall.

*** Suri has now shot under-par in seven of the last 11 rounds played.

*** As a team, the Blue Devils have shot under-par in seven of the last 11 rounds.

*** Anderson and Suri are tied for second in the tournament in par 4 scoring at four-under (3.82).

*** Anderson ranks third in the tournament with 11 birdies through 36 holes of play.