Oct. 27, 2008

GREENSBORO, N.C.--Jordan Payne continued his strong play Monday, shooting rounds of 72-70 in the Bridgestone Golf Collegiate Championship. His performance led Memphis into seventh place after two rounds. The tournament is being held at the par-72, 7,197 yard Forest Oaks Country Club, with UNC-Greensboro serving as the tournament's host.

The field is one of the strongest Memphis has faced so far this year, with seven of the teams having made an appearance in the NCAA tournament last season.

"We didn't play as well as we could have today, but considering how tough a field this is, I like the way we are positioned right now. If we can go out and give a strong performance tomorrow, we can easily post a top-five finish," said Tiger head coach Grant Robbins.

Senior Jordan Payne continues to step it up, as he is in a tie for third and well positioned to capture his second top-five and third top-10 finish of the fall.

"Jordan is a great guy to have on the team. He's really been working hard on his game, and its finally starting to pay off," said Coach Robbins.

Brandon Bunn made his first appearance in the top-five this fall, shooting rounds of 75-71 to finish in a tie for 16th. Senior Brad Benjamin posted two rounds of 76, leaving him in a tie for 50th. Stefan Erdidi is also in a tie for 50th after shooting rounds of 81-71. Freshman Jack Belote struggled in the first round and carded an 80. However, he rebounded in the second round with a 74 to tie for 56th.

"Brandon was struggling to begin the year. I think he's finally getting his game back together which is good for us since he was such a frequent contributor last spring," said Coach Robbins.

The University of Michigan is in first after posting a two-round team total of 575 (293-282). Bill Rankin of Michigan and Payne Gniewek are tied in the individual competition after shooting rounds of 75-64 and 69-70, respectively.

The Bridgestone Golf Collegiate Championship will resume tomorrow morning, Oct. 28.