LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - Another morning frost gave way to a warm day at Southern Highlands Golf Club (par 72, 7,510 yards), setting up a competitive second round at the Southern Highlands Collegiate Monday. The Rebels carded a 5-under as a team to move to 11-under through 36 holes, claiming the seventh spot on the leaderboard heading into Tuesday's final round. The 2022 edition of UNLV's prestigious annual event features seven of the top 25 teams in the country, including No. 1 Oklahoma.
UNLV sophomore
Caden Fioroni shot the field's low round of the day - a 6-under 66 - to surge up the leaderboard into a tie for first place at 9-under with Florida's Fred Biondi and Oklahoma's Patrick Welch. Fioroni started the day in a tie for 22nd after a 3-under 69 Sunday and sank four birdies and an eagle during a bogey-free round. That included a stretch on the back nine where the San Diego, California, native birdied 16 and 17 before an eagle on 18 as he made the turn after teeing off on hole 10. Joining Fioroni in the top 20 is junior
George Leigh, who is competing as an individual, and sophomore
Ben Sawaia with Leigh tied for 11th at 5-under after a second-round 69 and Sawaia in a tie for 17th at 4-under after shooting even Monday. Senior
Jack Kozlowski, an individual competitor, and freshman
Aaron Jarvis are both tied for fourth at even, while seniors
David Rauch and
J.J. Gresco are tied 58th and 72nd at 2-over and 6-over, respectively.
After an impressive 20-under in the opening round, the top-ranked Sooners only carded a 6-under as a team in round two, but still increased their lead to seven strokes over second-place Texas. The No. 15 Longhorns had the top team round of the day - a 12-under 276 - to move up six spots from eighth to second. Three teams - No. 24 Florida, No. 9 Georgia and No. 5 Pepperdine - are all tied for third at 16-under.
Sitting behind Fioroni, Biondi and Welch in a tie for fourth are Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht and Oklahoma's Logan McAllister at 8-under. With three tied at the top and seven others sitting within three shots of the lead, Tuesday's final round is shaping up for a photo finish. On the line is not only medalist honors at one of the top tournaments in the country, but the winner will also earn a PGA Tour exemption into the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, which will take place Oct. 6-9, 2022, at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas.
UP NEXT: The final round will begin Tuesday morning with tee times starting at 9 a.m. PT. Live scoring will be available at Golfstat.com, or by clicking
here.
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