Liberty University
Mason Rudolph Championship
Flames Continue to Climb Leaderboard at Mason Rudolph Championship
4/6/2019 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
No. 20 Liberty fired the second-best team round on Saturday, moving the Flames into fourth place heading into the final round of the 2019 Mason Rudolph Championship.
Liberty carded a 6-under par 278 during its second trip around the Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course (par 71, 7,100 yards). The only team to better the Flames on Saturday was host Vanderbilt, who carved up its home course with a 15-under par 269 to take the clubhouse lead heading into Sunday.
The Flames (280-278-558/10-under par) enter tomorrow's final round five shots behind No. 4 Vanderbilt's 15-under par 553 lead (284-269).
Round Recap – Liberty's Starting Five:
• No. 64 Gabe Lench: T5 6-under par 136 (67-69)
• No. 30 Ervin Chang: T5 6-over par 136 (72-64)
• Alexandre Fuchs: T28 even par 142 (69-73)
• Kieran Vincent: T45 2-over par 144 (72-72)
• Jonathan Yaun: T61 5-over par 147 (72-75)
Field Reflections:
• No. 4 Vanderbilt's 15-under par 269 was the second-best 18-hole total in the history of this event, as the Commodores carded a round of 268 in 2002.
• After nine of the 16 teams in the field carded under-par scores on Friday, only six teams in the 16-team field found red numbers during Saturday's round.
• Two teams stand between the Flames and tournament host Vanderbilt, as No. 25 Tennessee (269-288) and Coastal Carolina (276-281) are currently tied for second place with an 11-under par 557.
• Marquette's Austin Kendziorski fired his second consecutive round of 5-under par 66 to hold the overall individual lead at 10-under par 132 (66-66).
• Vanderbilt's Will Gordon, the No. 14 ranked player in the country, carded an 8-under par 63 on Saturday, tying the lowest 18-hole score in the 19-year history of this event.
Birdies and Bogeys – Liberty Team Notes:
• The tournament is Liberty's third regular season events where the Flames will only play 18 holes per day during a 54-hole event, helping prepare them for the same style of play at the ASUN Men's Golf Championship and the NCAA Regionals.
• The Flames carded eight total birdies on the par-5 holes on Saturday and currently lead the tournament field in par-5 scoring (17-under par/4.58 scoring average).
• Ervin Chang, who is ranked No. 30 in the country, carded a 7-under par 64 on Saturday, the second lowest 18-hole total of his career.
• Chang (72-64) enters tomorrow's final round tied for fifth place with fellow Flame Gabe Lench (67-69), as the pair are two of five golfers with a 6-under par 136 total score.
• Lench, who is ranked No. 64 in the country, birdied three of his last five holes to record his second sub-70 round of the event and his sixth of the season.
Course Information:
• Vanderbilt Legends Club – South Course (Franklin, Tenn.)
• Par 71, 7,100 yards
Following the Flames at Mason Rudolph Championship:
• Live stats will be available at Golfstat.com
• Twitter @LibertyGolf
• Instagram @LibertyGolf
• Round 3 Tee Time: Sunday at 8:30 a.m./CST (Shotgun Start/Holes No. 1-4)
