SARASOTA, Fla. — Brayden Bare is in a tie for fourth place, two shots off the individual lead, while UTSA has a share of fifth following the second day of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Golf Championship on Tuesday at Ritz-Carlton Members Club (par 72/7,292 yards).
Bare matched his career-best score with a second straight 4-under-par 68 to move to 8-under 136 for the week, good for the third-best 36-hole total ever posted by a Roadrunner. The redshirt sophomore is tied for fourth with South Florida’s Jake Peacock — the 49th-ranked player in the nation — and Florida Atlantic’s Biagio Gagliardi, one shot out of a tie for second and two strokes off the pace of 10-under par set by South Florida’s Wilhelm Ryding.
Bare was one of five Roadrunners to register a red number on Tuesday, as UTSA turned in a season-best 8-under 280. The Roadrunners are knotted with North Texas for fifth at 8-under 568, one shot behind Florida Atlantic with 18 holes left to play on Wednesday.
Following the top two teams in No. 33 South Florida (-22) and No. 44 Charlotte (-21), the leaderboard is bunched up with only five strokes separating third-place Memphis (-11) from a tie for seventh (-6) between East Carolina and Rice. Wichita State (+1), UAB (+8) and Temple (+18) round out the team standings.
Bare’s 68 featured five birdies, pushing his total to a team-high 10 for the tournament. The Waco native circled his number on the 535-yard, par-5 fourth, the 540-yard, par-5 sixth and the 448-yard, par-4 eighth holes en route to a 2-under 34 on the front nine. He then added four on the 560-yard 11th and a three on the 376-yard 14th during a bogey-free 34 on the back.
Walker Franklin posted UTSA’s second-best round of the day with a 2-under 70, a season best for the senior. The Colorado native logged a team-high six birdies, going back-to-back on Nos. 5-6 and again on Nos. 14-15 to help him chart a 34 on the back. He has moved into a tie for 25th at even-par 144 after opening with a 74 on Monday.
Logan Vargas has a share of 17th at 2-under par after turning in his second consecutive 1-under 71. The junior from Lubbock wrote down birdies on Nos. 2-3 as part of a 34 on the front and he added a pair on the back to help counter a trio of bogeys.
Jack Wehman also posted a 71 on Tuesday on the strength of five birdies, including four during a five-hole stretch on the back where he registered a 34. The Austin native is tied for 33rd at 2-over 146 after recording a 75 in the opening round.
Logan Zurn turned in a 71 in the second round for a four-shot improvement, as well. The junior from Grapevine had three birdies, including back-to-back circled numbers on Nos. 10-11, to move into the tie for 33rd with Wehman and three other golfers.
The final round is slated for Wednesday and the Roadrunners will tee off from No. 1 at 7:30 a.m. CT.
ESPN+ will air live coverage of the final round beginning at 10 a.m. CT. Sean Salisbury, Joe Cowart and Maria Trivelpiece will call the action.
-UTSA-