Mbetse Leads Bulls on Day 1 of Georgia Southern Individual Collegiate
DAY 1 SCORES
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
STATESBORO, Ga., FEB. 3, 2019 – USF freshmen
Massimo Mbetse,
Anthony Muttillo and sophomore
Erik Souchak gained valuable experience for the spring season during the opening rounds of the Georgia Southern Individual Collegiate on Sunday.
Playing in wet conditions, Mbetse carded a career best 1-under 71 in the first round and finished the 36-hole day in a tie for 12
th at 1-over. The Bradenton, Fla., native is three shots outside the top five while Duke's Steven DiLisio (-11) leads the 75-player field. Play continues with 18 more holes Monday at Georgia Southern University Golf Course (par 72, 6,871 yards)
Souchak (Sarasota, Fla.) cut four shots off his opening-round score with a 73 in the afternoon and moved up 13 spots to a tie for 31
st place at 6-over.
Muttillo teed off in tournament action for the first time as a Bull and also improved in the second round. The Boca Raton, Fla., native bettered his first-round score by four shots with a 2-over 74 and completed the day in a tie for 43
rd place at 8-over.
USF Scores
T12.
Massimo Mbetse, 71-74—145 (+1)
T31.
Erik Souchak, 77-73—150 (+6)
T43.
Anthony Muttillo, 78-74—152 (+8)
Quotable
Assistant coach Brad Caldwell's thoughts on the Bulls' performances Sunday:
"Massimo was just steady all day - a lot of fairways, a lot of greens. Other than one bad break on No. 5, with the ball trickling out of bounds, he played really solid all day."
"Erik and Anthony got off to a little bit of a slow start in the morning and weren't playing particularly their best early in the second round. They flipped the switch on the back nine. Anthony birdied three out of his last five and Erik birdied two out of his last three to really salvage something in the afternoon. It gives them some momentum going into tomorrow."
Caldwell on the Bulls' approach heading into Monday's final round:
"It's a big opportunity for the guys. They're going to treat this as any other round of golf, but at the same time it's an opportunity for them to represent USF and themselves. They'll try to put together a really good day tomorrow. "
Up Next
Monday's action begins with an 8:30 a.m. shotgun start.
About USF Men's Golf
USF men's golf has captured the past four American Athletic Conference Championship titles in wire-to-wire fashion and made six straight trips to NCAA Regionals. The program is led by Steve Bradley, who has earned American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors the past four seasons. Follow @USFMGolf on Twitter for the latest information concerning the program.
