Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
Patriot League Championship
Army In Second At Patriot League Championship
April 26, 2014 | Men's Golf
April 26, 2014
WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army golf team shot an even-par 280 in the second round to move into second place after 36 holes of the 2014 Patriot League Championship at the West Point Golf Course. Plebe Peter Kim carded a 4-under par 66 to lead the effort.
Kim's 66 was the lowest individual score of the tournament on Saturday, while Army’s 280 in the afternoon was the best team round through 36 holes. The Black Knights began the second round in fourth place.
“We came out very tentative in the first round and never got anything going,” Army head coach Brian Watts said. “We told the guys during the break that they needed to be aggressive and stay positive. Even though we had a bad first round, we knew they had a good round in them. It was just a matter of them gaining their composure and believing that all the hard work they’ve put in during the last five months would pay off. They stayed patient in the second round, and we finished off the round really well. I was proud of them for that, and it definitely gives us some momentum going into tomorrow.”
The Black Knights are 15-over par (575) as a team, five shots back of Loyola (+10, 570). Army is 11 shots clear of third-place Navy (+26, 586). Lehigh (+34, 594), Colgate (+43, 603), Bucknell (+45, 605), Holy Cross (+56, 616) and Lafayette (+58, 618) round out the field.
Kim starts the final round tied for second place at 1-under par, one shot behind Navy’s August Jonas who fired back-to-back rounds of 1-under 69. Kim shot a 73 in the first round, coming back to post his 4-under par in the afternoon. Kim started the second round with a birdie and posted pars on the next eight holes. He birdied holes nine and 10 before giving one shot back on 12. After a run of five straight pars, Kim finished his round with an eagle-3 on the par-5 18th.
Freshman Justin Pagila finished the first day of his Patriot League Championship debut tied for sixth with a 3-over par 143. Pagila posted the Black Knights’ best score of the first round with an even-par 70. He started the tournament with four straight birdies and made the turn at 4-under before shooting 4-over par on the back nine.
Sophomore Marcus Plunkett is tied for 10th place after posting one of the afternoon’s biggest improvements. Last year’s top rookie was 9-over par after the first round, but responded with a 2-under par 68 in the afternoon session. Plunkett made the turn at 1-over par, but a birdie on 13 moved him back to even. He bogeyed the 16th hole, but an eagle on 17 and a birdie on 18 set his final total.
Junior Robby Hill (148, t-13th), senior Harrison Florence (151, t-20th) and Eric Peng (157, t-33rd) completed the Black Knights’ six-member lineup.
The Black Knights begin their final round at 9 a.m. Army will be paired with Loyola and Navy in the final six groups.
Players Mentioned
