Photo by WKU Athletics
In just his second tournament this season, WKU’s Stuart Easton found his groove. That powered his team to its best round in 12 years.
The Hilltopper Golf senior fired a career-low, 7-under 65 in the second round at Kennesaw State’s Pinetree Intercollegiate, helping him hold the outright lead with an 8-under 136 total (71-65) with one round to play.
WKU also holds the team lead with a 570 total, including a 12-under 276 in the second round. That’s the program’s best single round since the Tops also shot a 276 at the Wyoming Cowboy Classic in 2006.
“I think everyone on the team is feeling really good,” Easton said. “I think the second round was our best round to par of the season, and that’s always really good to keep improving and see some red numbers up on the board. A lot of the guys are playing some really good stuff, and we’re relishing the challenge tomorrow. It’s always great going to bed with the team lead, so we just need to keep doing what we’re doing, make some birdies tomorrow and hopefully get across the line.”
Easton has a three-stroke lead on Kennesaw State’s Wyatt Larkin heading into the final round at the par-72, 7,108-yard Pinetree Country Club. He’ll be eyeing his first college victory in the final round, which begins at 7 a.m. CT Tuesday with tee times.
The senior leads the tournament with 11 total birdies, while the Hilltoppers lead the field with 38 total birdies. Easton had seven of those birdies in his brilliant second round, putting them with an eagle and two bogeys.
“I’m delighted with my day’s play,” said Easton, who missed the first two tournaments of the season while representing his native Scotland in international competition. “I’ve played well before here in the past, and I just wanted to keep having fun on the golf course. The course sat well to me and I’ve been playing good, so I just wanted to get some momentum going early. There’s a lot of golf left to be played and a lot of good players in the field, so I need to go out there and control what I can control, and if I play as well as I know I can, maybe we can return home with two trophies tomorrow.”
His second-round 65 ties for the fourth-best round by a Hilltopper since 1980, and it’s the best score by a WKU player since Billy Tom Sargent also shot 65 in 2016. Easton’s 136 total is also his career best for 36 holes.
His teammates were just as strong with four finishing the day in the top 25.
The redshirt senior Sargent is in seventh place with a 143 (73-70) tally, and redshirt junior Linus Lois tied for eighth at 144 (75-69).
Sophomore Crimson Callahan is tied for 21st at 147 (75-72), and junior Tom Bevington is tied for 39th at 151 (76-75). Callahan is tied for ninth in the field with nine total birdies.
“I’m just very proud of the team and how they handled adversity today,” WKU head coach Chan Metts said. “We began in very difficult conditions and got off to a poor start, but we stayed patient and fought back one shot at a time. To come back and play the last 27 of those 36 holes like we did just speaks to trusting the process and not pressing at the wrong time.
“Now we have a fun opportunity tomorrow, but need to make sure we go into tomorrow’s round without any expectations and stay committed to our process.”
Courtesy of WKU Athletics
