The eighth-ranked men's golf team began play Sunday at the Isleworth Collegiate Invitational, held at Isleworth Country Club in Windermere, Fla., and sit in seventh place after the first two rounds.
The 54-hole event was initially supposed to be played over three days, but the presence of Hurricane Wilma forced a schedule change-the teams played 36 holes on Sunday and will play the final 18 Tuesday.
After the first two rounds of the tournament, the Blue Devils are 15-over par. No. 23 Wake Forest is in first at 7-under par, followed by top-ranked Georgia at six-under.
The tournament includes nine of the top 25 teams in the country.
Senior Ryan Blaum, ranked 25th nationally, led the way for the Blue Devils, firing rounds of 70 and 73 and sits in a tie for sixth place at 1-under par.
Ninth-ranked junior Jake Grodzinsky opened with a 1-under-par 71 and followed it with a 73 and is currently tied for ninth at even par.
"This is one of the most demanding courses we will play all year," head coach Rod Myers said. "One mental lapse can lead to a missed shot, and while most places that would only lead to a bogey, here it leads to a double or a triple."
The rest of the team discovered just how hard the course is, struggling throughout much of the day. After posting an 8-over-par 80 in his opening round, sophomore Michael Schachner recovered to shoot a second-round 73 and finished the day tied for 58th overall at 9-over.
Freshman Clark Klaasen, who is making his first start, is also tied at 58th after rounds of 78 and 75.
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