RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico — The Georgia men’s golf team ended round two at the Puerto Rico Classic in first place led by a 7-under-par 65 by Connor Creasy on Monday morning.
The Bulldogs lead the field with a 36-hole total of 33-under, 563. No. 30 North Florida is in second place and trails by two strokes while No. 6 Tennessee sits in third at 30-under, 546. Collectively, Georgia shot 20-under, 268 on day two, which ties the tournament record it set in 2022 for the second-lowest 18-hole score and is the best round of the field this year by three strokes.
All five Bulldogs competing for the team sit in the top 20 of the individual leaderboards, with everyone shooting in the 60s during the second round.
“We had an idea that they were playing pretty solid, but their body language let us know that things were going well,” head coach Chris Haack said. “Our mindset coming into today was fairly similar. The team just made a few more putts today. Yesterday, I thought they hit it well, but we just didn't make a few of the five and six-footers that they did today. Today, they had a little bit more opportunity, took advantage, and made a few more putts here and there. Having all five guys in the hunt, playing well, under par - it's always a good thing. All in all, I think everyone on this team would still probably tell you they left a couple of shots out there. We have one more day to play. We need to stay focused and prepared to try and come out strong tomorrow."
Creasy began the day with his seventh collegiate eagle on a 535-yard par five on hole five. The Abingdon, Va. native earned birdies on six holes on Monday, rocketing him up the individual leaderboards 31 spots into the top five with a nine-under, 135 total. Round two marked the third time in Creasy’s career shooting 65 or better in a round. He sits tied for fourth along with teammate Ben van Wyk, who carded a second-straight round in the 60s, now doing so in six of his previous eight collegiate rounds. The graduate student ended the day with a four-under 68.
Senior Caleb Manuel had the second-best day on the team, finishing the round with a five-under 67, placing him tied for 15th at seven-under 137. Manuel has earned 12 birdies through two days, tied for the fifth-most of anyone in the field. Beck Burnette also stands at seven-under and tied for 15th place through 36 holes. After carding a 68 on the day, Burnette has now recorded back-to-back rounds in the 60s for the first time while at Georgia. Buck Brumlow rounded out the day for the Bulldogs, shooting a 69 and stands tied for 20th with a six-under, 138 total.
Camden Smith is competing as an individual and tied his best collegiate round during round two with a 68. The freshman now stands tied for 31st on the leaderboards at five-under, 139, with just one bogey on Monday.
The Bulldogs will conclude Puerto Rico Classic on Tuesday, Feb. 13 with a shotgun start slated for 7:30 a.m. ET. Georgia will look for its first tournament win this season, most recently taking a team title at the NCAA Bath Regional in May 2023.
Puerto Rico Classic
Grand Reserve Golf Club
Rio Grande, Puerto Rico
Par 72, 7,506 Yards
Day Two Results
Team Leaderboard
1. No. 43 Georgia 275-268=543 (-33)
2. No. 30 North Florida 271-274=545 (-31)
3. No. 6 Tennessee 272-274=546 (-30)
4. No. 29 Purdue 280-273=553 (-23)
5. Minnesota 281-274=555 (-21)
t-6. No. 15 Oklahoma 276-281=557 (-19)
t-6. No. 13 Virginia 282-275=557 (-19)
8. Iowa 274-284=558 (-18)
9. No. 4 Ole Miss 285-274=559 (-17)
10. No. 9 ETSU 279-283=562 (-14)
11. No. 25 Ohio St. 280-283=563 (-13)
12. Wisconsin 281-283=564 (-12)
13. South Carolina 286-284=570 (-6)
14. Charleston 284-288=572 (-4)
15. Marquette 287-289=576 (E)
