Dodd-Berry leads Bucs on day two of NCAA Championships

Published 8:42 am Tuesday, May 30, 2023

 SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Freshman Matty Dodd-Berry (Wirral, England) is getting his first taste of competition at the NCAA Men’s Golf Championships. The Southern Conference Freshman of the Year led the Buccaneers on day two of the championships, as he fired a 3-over-par 73 on Saturday from the Raptor Course at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Despite having the earlier tee time on Saturday, the Blue & Gold still couldn’t pass the test of the difficult course in the desert. ETSU shaved six shots off its opening round score as the Bucs posted a 17-over 297 in round two and sit at 40-over-par 600 for the tournament.

Dodd-Berry registered 15 pars and three bogeys in round two en route to moving to 9-over-par 149 for the championship.

Sophomore Algot Kleen (Fiskebackskil, Sweden) got off to a solid start on Saturday as he played the front nine at two-under, which put him into a tie for 29th for the time being. However, Kleen couldn’t carry momentum over to the back nine as he played the last nine holes at six-over, resulting in the all-SoCon player moving to 7-over-par 147 for the tournament.

ETSU’s other two countable scores on Saturday came from Mats Ege (Kristiansand, Norway) and Jack Tickle (Bristol, Tenn.). The Buccaneer duo both finished at 5-over 75 in round two.

Illinois went low on Saturday as the eighth-ranked Illini fired a 7-under 273 and sits atop the team leaderboard at 2-under-par 558. The Illini will take a three-shot lead into Sunday’s third round as No. 9 Florida is in second-place at 1-over-par 561. The Gators joined Illinois as the only two teams on Saturday to shoot below par as Florida posted a 2-under 278 in round two. Illinois’ team score marked the second-best 18-hole score in Grayhawk’s three years hosting the NCAA Championship. Pepperdine’s 9-under 271 in 2021 when they went on to win the national title is the lowest.

Individually, Georgia Tech’s Ross Steelman continues to hold the lead at 7-under-par 133 through 36 holes. Steelman, who is ranked No. 15 nationally, has a three-stroke advantage over Texas A&M’s Daniel Rodrigues and Illinois’ Adrien Dumont de Chassart. Overall, only 12 golfers in the 156-player field have a score below par.

The scoring average in round two increased from the opening round as Saturday’s average was 73.29. Friday’s average was 73.24.

ETSU will be grouped with Baylor and Colorado State in Sunday’s round. The Bucs tee off at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Fans can follow live scoring via Golfstat.com. In addition, live tweets will be available by following the Bucs on Twitter @ETSU_MGolf.