PALM HARBOR, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The wind kicked up and made things difficult on the UCF men's golf team in Monday's second round at the American Athletic Conference Championship. The Knights were 10-over par Monday on the Copperhead Course at the Innisbrook Resort.
UCF is +15 for the tournament and will enter Tuesday's third and final round in third place, trailing tournament leader South Florida by 13 strokes. Cincinnati is in second place and is nine strokes off the pace of the Bulls.
Individually, junior Manuel Elvira leads the way for the Knights. He is in a tie for third place at 1-under. After shooting a 2-under 69 Sunday, he was +1 Monday. He trails South Florida's Jimmy Jones by just two strokes.
"It was tough," Elvira said after of Monday's conditions. "I tried to grind a lot. I didn't hit as many greens (as I wanted). I had to get it up and down from pretty much everywhere. I stayed patient and tried to make as many pars and birdies as I could and finished one over. I feel pretty good. I hit the ball decent. I've just got to get the putts going, hit a few putts tomorrow."
Elvira is currently the top player in the tournament on Par 5 holes, playing them at -4. He is also among the top 5 in Par 3 scoring and ranks sixth overall in pars for the tournament.
Two other Knights are in the Top 20 after two rounds. Sophomore Donnie Trosper has carded back-to-back rounds of 73 (+2) and is 4-over for the tournament. He is tied for 11th place and trails the leader by seven strokes. Trosper has been one of the most consistent golfers in the tournament, turning in scores of even par on 29 of 36 holes. Junior Juuso Kahlos (73-74-147 +5) is tied for 13th place.
Freshman Bobby Bai carded a second-round 75 to help contribute to the Knights' team score on Monday. He is tied for 35th place at 11-over. Kyler Tate is tied for 24th at +8 after turning in a 76 in the second round.
The Knights believe they can make up ground in Tuesday's third round and make a run at the conference title.
"We can have a good day tomorrow," Elvira said. "They can have a bad day. Golf is like this. We just have to believe in ourselves and try to go as low as we can. We're pretty confident. We'll try to put a low (score) up there."
UCF will tee off alongside USF and Cincinnati as the top three teams in the tournament when the final round begins Tuesday. The Knights, Bulls and Bearcats will take to the course at 8:50 a.m. Live scoring can be found at the link above.
The American Digital Network will have live coverage of the 18th hole during the final round of the championship beginning at Noon ET. Once competition is complete, the ADN will carry the awards ceremony, as well as player and coach interviews. A link to the ADN coverage is also above in the Related Links portion of this page.
