No. 2 Gulf Coast is 6 back with 18 to play

No. 2 Mississippi Gulf Coast had to do some adjusting during the day Monday, but by the end of 36 holes the Bulldogs found themselves in striking distance at the GlenLakes Invitational in Foley, Ala.

Gulf Coast is in third place six shots behind Wallace State and five back of No. 6 Eastern Florida State. They rebounded from a slow start to post the lowest round of the day.

"I didn't think we had our best stuff today for two different reasons," Gulf Coast coach Brad Thornton said. "In the morning, the conditions were the complete opposite of yesterday's practice round. The course was playing very difficult in the morning, and I think we ran out of steam a little in the afternoon."

The Bulldogs shot 4-over in the second round at GlenLakes Golf Club. They are 21-over heading into Tuesday's final round. That's four shots ahead of the University of St. Thomas from Texas.

Andrew Zielinski (Fr., Ocean Springs/Ocean Springs), who is playing the event as an individual, is tied for fourth at 2-over. He shot 1-under 71 in the first round, one of only seven scores in red numbers all day.

"Drew stayed patient all day," Thornton said. "He was able to battle through a couple rough stretches but played solid all day. He kept the ball in play. He gave himself a chance for a really good finish tomorrow."

Kyle Davidson (Fr., Kyalami, South Africa/St. Peter's College) matched that 71 in the second round to help lead the Gulf Coast charge. He's 4-over, and Chase Kaiser (So., Natchez/Cathedral) is another shot back tied for ninth.

The teams only got seven holes of practice in on the course Sunday, starting in 75-degree weather on a dry course with a south win. Everything flipped after the rain started and canceled the rest of practice. Three inches of rain soaked the course, the temperature dropped 25 degrees and a north wind prevailed. The driving range was also closed Monday morning so the teams went out cold.

"We improved in the afternoon and posted the low round of the day," Thornton said. "We gave ourselves a chance tomorrow, so that's a positive. We know that when we don't have our best stuff we still have a chance to win the golf tournament."

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