Two Rounds Complete, One To Go At BIG EAST Championship

April 21, 2008

2008 BIG EAST Championship Leaderboard (PDF)

HEBRON, Ky. - Marquette University senior Ted Gray sits in first place after carding another four-under par 68 and the Golden Eagles extended their lead to 11 strokes Monday with the conclusion of the second round of the 2008 BIG EAST Men's Golf Championship at Traditions Golf Club.

Gray, who held a four-stroke advantage following Monday's opening-round 68, now holds a seven-stroke lead over St. John's Keegan Bradley. Six more birdies on Tuesday helped Gray reach his current score of eight-under 136, the third lowest 36-hole total in BIG EAST Championship history. Meanwhile, Bradley sits at one-under 143 (71-72).

"There's a lot of good players here, so I just knew I needed to take it one hole at a time," said Gray. "I just looked at [yesterday's round] like that was in the past. I made some good putts, had some good swings and it came out to a 68. Hopefully tomorrow I can put up another good number and just help my team out. We're playing really well right now."

Marquette indeed shaved three strokes off of yesterday's team total to finish at three-over 579 (291-288), while defending champion Louisville climbed into second place at 590 (296-294). Seton Hall (294-297) and Notre Dame (296-295) are tied for third at 591.

Senior Michael Bielawski and junior Mike Van Sickle also moved up the leaderboard Monday. Bielawski now stands alone in fourth place at one-over 145 (72-73) and Van Sickle is tied for fifth at 146 (72-74). Freshman Kelly Kretz rebounded after a tough opening round and shot a one-over 73. After starting on hole 10, Kretz sank a 60-foot eagle putt on the par-5 hole 12 to help reverse his fortunes.

Tuesday's final round is scheduled to begin at 7 a.m. CT. Gray is set to tee off at at 8:30 a.m. on hole 10. Live scoring is available online at Golfstat.com.

2008 BIG EAST Championship
Monday, April 21, 2008
Hebron, Ky.
Traditions Golf Club
Par 72 / 7,103 yards

MU Individuals
1) Ted Gray 136 (68-68)
4) Michael Bielawski 145 (72-73)
T5) Mike Van Sickle 146 (72-74)
T44) Kelly Kretz 156 (83-73)
T58) Dustin Schwab 160 (79-81)

Team Scores
1) Marquette 579 (291-288)
2) Louisville 590 (296-294)
T3) Seton Hall 591 (294-297)
T3) Notre Dame 591 (296-295)
5) St. John's 600 (300-300)
T6) USF 602 (304-298)
T6) DePaul 602 (302-300)
T8) Villanova 603 (301-302)
T8) Cincinnati 603 (301-302)
10) Connecticut 604 (301-303)
11) Georgetown 610 (302-308)
12) Rutgers 616 (307-309)