Photo by: Josh Shelton
Bottom of Lineup Leads Cardinals in Round 2 of Mason Rudolph Championship
April 06, 2024 | Men's Golf
FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Braxton Kuntz and Alec Cesare both carded a 1-over-par 72 in the second round of the Mason Rudolph Championship, Saturday, to help Ball State overcome an otherwise difficult second day at Vanderbilt Legends Club.
After Ball State was among the final flight of golfers on Friday, the Cardinals were the first off the tee on Saturday. And when Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Cardinal golfers struggled, it was No. 4 Cesare and No. 5 Kuntz who steadied the lineup. Kuntz (72-72—144) shot 1-over for the second straight day and Cesare (80-72—152), a freshman who was 9-over-par in the first round, bounced back to shave eight strokes from his score.
A lefty transfer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kuntz stayed steady on the difficult front nine, shooting par on seven of nine holes and finishing 2-over-par. He birdied three holes on the back nine to offset a double-bogey on the 10th hole. He enters Sunday's final round leading the Ball State lineup in 23rd place overall, five strokes ahead of his closest teammate, Carter Smith
Cesare, meanwhile, made use of an eagle on the par-5 14th hole and shot par or better on each of the last nine holes to finish -3 on the back half of the course. He is third in the Ball State lineup entering the final round.
"I couldn't ask for more today from Alec and Braxton," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who saw his team struggle on the front nine and recover on the back nine. "Braxton has been consistent and Alec bounced back after yesterday."
The top of the Cardinals' lineup struggled, however. Smith, one of just seven golfers in the tournament to shoot at least 2-under-par on Friday, shot 6-over on the front nine and finished 9-over for the day. Kash Bellar spun a similar tale on the par-71, 7,112-yard South Course, shooting +7 on the front nine before finishing even on the back nine. Ali Khan finished no better: +8 on the front nine and +11 overall.
"Tough day for sure," added Fleck. "We just got off to such a poor start and didn't really make the in-round adjustments fast enough to get things leveled out. It took us way too long to figure out the pace of the greens, and the hole locations being tougher, and how we needed to handle that combination."
Play resumes early Sunday morning for the final round of the 54-hole championship, with Ball State sitting in 11th place – one stroke ahead of Cincinnati with whom the Cardinals were tied after the first 18 holes.
"I'll credit our guys for fighting and making some things happen on that back nine," Fleck added. "We need to hit the reset button tomorrow. It's a new day and our guys will be ready."
Ball State Individual Results, through Round 2
No. 5 Braxton Kuntz (144): 34-38—72 | 37-35--72 (+2, 23rd)
No. 1 Carter Smith (149): 34-35—69 | 41-39—80 (-8, 50th)
No. 4 Alec Cesare (152): 38-42—80 | 39-33—72 (+10, 61st)
No. 2 Kash Bellar (154): 38-38—76 | 42-36—78 (+12, 67th)
No. 3 Ali Khan (155): 36-37—73 | 43-39—82 (+13, 70th)
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After Ball State was among the final flight of golfers on Friday, the Cardinals were the first off the tee on Saturday. And when Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Cardinal golfers struggled, it was No. 4 Cesare and No. 5 Kuntz who steadied the lineup. Kuntz (72-72—144) shot 1-over for the second straight day and Cesare (80-72—152), a freshman who was 9-over-par in the first round, bounced back to shave eight strokes from his score.
A lefty transfer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kuntz stayed steady on the difficult front nine, shooting par on seven of nine holes and finishing 2-over-par. He birdied three holes on the back nine to offset a double-bogey on the 10th hole. He enters Sunday's final round leading the Ball State lineup in 23rd place overall, five strokes ahead of his closest teammate, Carter Smith
Cesare, meanwhile, made use of an eagle on the par-5 14th hole and shot par or better on each of the last nine holes to finish -3 on the back half of the course. He is third in the Ball State lineup entering the final round.
"I couldn't ask for more today from Alec and Braxton," said Ball State coach Mike Fleck who saw his team struggle on the front nine and recover on the back nine. "Braxton has been consistent and Alec bounced back after yesterday."
The top of the Cardinals' lineup struggled, however. Smith, one of just seven golfers in the tournament to shoot at least 2-under-par on Friday, shot 6-over on the front nine and finished 9-over for the day. Kash Bellar spun a similar tale on the par-71, 7,112-yard South Course, shooting +7 on the front nine before finishing even on the back nine. Ali Khan finished no better: +8 on the front nine and +11 overall.
"Tough day for sure," added Fleck. "We just got off to such a poor start and didn't really make the in-round adjustments fast enough to get things leveled out. It took us way too long to figure out the pace of the greens, and the hole locations being tougher, and how we needed to handle that combination."
Play resumes early Sunday morning for the final round of the 54-hole championship, with Ball State sitting in 11th place – one stroke ahead of Cincinnati with whom the Cardinals were tied after the first 18 holes.
"I'll credit our guys for fighting and making some things happen on that back nine," Fleck added. "We need to hit the reset button tomorrow. It's a new day and our guys will be ready."
Ball State Individual Results, through Round 2
No. 5 Braxton Kuntz (144): 34-38—72 | 37-35--72 (+2, 23rd)
No. 1 Carter Smith (149): 34-35—69 | 41-39—80 (-8, 50th)
No. 4 Alec Cesare (152): 38-42—80 | 39-33—72 (+10, 61st)
No. 2 Kash Bellar (154): 38-38—76 | 42-36—78 (+12, 67th)
No. 3 Ali Khan (155): 36-37—73 | 43-39—82 (+13, 70th)
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