Knoll Leads Iowa on Day 2 of Mason Rudolph Championship

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Franklin, Tenn. — The University of Iowa men’s golf team fired a second-round 284 (E) on Saturday at the Mason Rudolph Championship. The Hawkeyes sit in seventh-place among the 14-team field (566; -2). The three-day tournament is being played at the Vanderbilt Legends Golf Club in Franklin, Tennessee.
 
34529Alabama leads the field at 550 (-18), while Florida is in second (551; -19) following the first 36-holes. The 14-team field features six Golfstat top-50 teams, including No. 6 Florida (2nd), No. 3 Vanderbilt (3rd), No. 26 Missouri (T-4th), No. 21 Duke (T-4th), No. 49 Middle Tennessee State (6th), and No. 43 Liberty (8th).
 
Raymond Knoll utilized seven birdies on the back nine to climb 24 spots on the leaderboard in round two. The senior made par or better on 17 holes to card a five-under-par 66, tying a career-low for 18 holes. His is tied for eighth with 18-holes left to play.

“Raymond was impressive today,” said UI head coach Tyler Stith. “His round today shows the maturity in his game. He was one over through 10 with nine pars and a bogey then went off and birdied six of the last eight holes. He didn’t press, he stayed patient and made a bunch of birdies coming in.”
 
Sophomore Matthew Walker followed, carding a two-under-par 72 on Saturday to bring his two-day total to 139 (-3). Walker’s round was highlighted by four birdies and 16 holes at par or below. He is tied for 12th with one round left to play.
 
Senior Carson Schaake carded a 72 (+1) in Saturday’s second round. His round was highlighted by 15 holes at or below par, including birdies on holes six and 18. Schaake is tied for 18th overall heading into Sunday’s third round.

“Tomorrow we need everyone in it from the beginning,” said Stith. “If we can get off to a good start and build some momentum into our round and have an opportunity to move up the leaderboard.”
 
Freshmen Alex Schaake and Ryoto Furuya rounded out the Hawkeye lineup. Schaake is tied for 54th overall (+7; 149: 72, 77), while Furuya is tied for 73rd (+16; 158: 77, 81).
 
The final round of the Mason Rudolph Championship will conclude Sunday morning at 8 a.m. (CT). Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.

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