Staff and wire report
TOLEDO, Ohio -- North Carolina State's Matt Hill eagled his next-to-last hole to tie Georgia's Russell Henley for the medal lead Wednesday in the weather-delayed second round of the NCAA Division I Men's Golf Championship at Inverness Club.
Hill, a co-leader after the opening 18 holes, shot a second consecutive 2-under 69 and was at 4-under 138 with Henley, who followed a 71 with a 67 to lead the Bulldogs to second place in the team standings.
Georgia had a 1-over 573 total through 36 holes, five shots back of leader Oklahoma State.
Texas A&M shot an 8-under 276 to shoot up the team leaderboard from 12th into third place among schools which had completed their second rounds. A&M is at 574 followed by Arizona State (575), Washington (579) and Arkansas (580).
Michigan, Duke, Ohio State, Chattanooga and UCF were still on the course when darkness forced them to halt play. Threatening weather suspended play for 4 1/2 hours, leaving almost half the field still on the course when darkness fell. Play will resume early Thursday morning, with the third round to follow.
The top eight teams through 54 holes of medal play advance to match-play quarterfinals.
A&M's 8-under team score was the best of the tournament so far and a school record in the NCAA Championship. The Aggies shot 6 under in 1982.
"Our players were really loose before the round and went out and played great golf," A&M head coach J.T. Higgins said. "I thought we handled the delay very well. Bronson took charge and led us home, but it was a terrific day all around. We're in great position, and I like our chances. Obviously, the best way to advance is to win, but the main thing is to be in the top eight and still be playing on Friday."
The individual winner will be decided through 54 holes.
A&M's Bronson Burgoon shot a 67 and was a shot behind Hill and Henley at 3-under 139. Arizona State's Scott Pinckney had a 67 and was at 140 along with Washington's Nick Taylor, who shot his second straight 70.
At 141 were Oklahoma State's Morgan Hoffman (69), Tennessee's David Holmes (71), Jesper Kennegard of Arizona State (69), Oklahoma State's Trent Leon (70) and Georgia Tech's Cameron Tringale (67).
A&M sophomore Conrad Shindler shot 68 and sophomore John Hurley shot 69, while junior Andrea Pavan shot 72 and senior Matt Van Zandt shot 76.
Shindler is tied for 19th at 143. Hurley is tied for 23rd at 144. Pavan is tied for 61st (148), and Van Zandt is tied for 119th (152).
"Bronson, Conrad and John were phenomenal today," Higgins said. "Conrad hit it close all day but missed a lot of putts. He could have had an absolutely amazing day. Bronson has done a good job the last few weeks of just playing his game and not worrying about anybody else. When he approaches it that way, he plays his best golf."
Still on the course, San Diego's Alex Ching got off to a torrid start on his round before darkness suspended play. With three birdies and an eagle at No. 8, he was 5 under through 10 holes to get to 6 under for the tournament. Michigan's Alexander Sitompul was 5 under through 10 holes and 4 under overall, while Duke's Michael Quagliano was 4 under through 10 holes to get to 2 under.
A contender for national player of the year, Hill is playing as an individual because his team did not qualify.
He was 1 over for the day when the players were called off the course because of the impending thunderstorm and lightning. Soon after play resumed late in the afternoon, he picked up a birdie. After four pars in a row, he pounded his drive on hole No. 8 -- his 17th hole -- some 345 yards. He then hit a 4-iron to 4 feet and rolled in the eagle putt.
Henley also started on No. 10 and closed his first nine holes with four consecutive birdies -- three of them after 9-iron approaches put him close.
During the delay, the players killed time by lounging around the clubhouse, eating lunch, watching TV, taking naps and talking.
Hoffman had an adventurous day. After a double bogey at the seventh hole he came right back to eagle the par-5 eighth. He then parred the next four holes, then eagled the par-5 13th. He hit his second shot at the par-4 17th hole into a bunker but then the horn sounded to stop play.
When he returned to the course, he didn't know the consistency of the damp sand and left his third shot in the bunker. He ended up making another double bogey.
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